0^.    t 


1  ttu  ®k0lo9ia/^ 

^^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  % 


Library  of  Dr.  A.  A.  Hod^e.      Presented. 


BX  9225  .M3  M2  1842 
M'Crie,  Thomas,  1797-1875. 
The  life  of  Thomas  M'Crie, 
D.D. 


PuHished  by  W  S.  Young .  PhiUdelphia^ 
1842 


LIFE 


OP 


THOMAS  M'CRIE,   D.  D., 


AUTHOR  OF 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  KNOX,"  "LIFE  OF  MELVILLE," 
ETC.,  ETC. 


BY  HIS  SON, 

THE   RE¥.    THOMAS    M'CRIE. 


WILLIAM   S.    YOUNG,  173   RACE   STREET, 
1842. 


Wm.  S.  Younq,  Printer. 


PREFACE. 


The  Author  of  these  Memoirs  feels  that 
he  owes  some  apology  to  the  Public  for  the 
size  to  which  this  Volume  has  extended,  as 
well  as  for  his  delay  in  bringing  it  out.  His 
original  intention  was  to  have  prefixed  a  brief 
notice  of  the  principal  events  in  his  father's 
life  to  the  volume  of  his  Sermons  M^hich  he 
edited  in  1836.  From  this  he  was  dissuaded 
at  the  time  by  many  of  his  friends,  who  stre- 
nuously advised  him  to  devote  more  time  to 
the  task,  representing  to  him  the  impropriety 
of  publishing  a  hurried  and  superficial  sketch, 
which  could  only  gratify  an  ephemeral  curi- 
osity, without  doing  justice  to  the  character 
and  life  of  his  highly  valued  parent.  The 
materials  necessary  for  such  a  task  were  evi- 
dently such  as  none  but  a  near  relative  could 
gain  access  to,  or  be  properly  qualified  to  deal 
with.  Once  embarked  in  the  undertaking, 
the  Author  found  these  materials  daily  accu- 


PKEFACE. 


mulating  on  his  hands;  and  the  consequence 
is,  that  it  has  expanded  as  he  advanced,  till 
it  has  reached  a  size  far  beyond  what  was  an- 
ticipated by  himself,  even  after  the  printing 
had  commenced.  Meanwhile,  various  avo- 
cations, which  it  is  needless  to  enumerate, 
but  from  which  he  could  not  well  escape, 
have  occupied,  or  broken  his  time  to  such 
a  degree,  that  he  has  not  had  many  more 
months  to  devote  to  the  present  task,  than 
the  number  of  years  that  have  elapsed  since 
he  undertook  it;  and  even  yet,  he  is  aware 
that  he  requires  the  indulgence  of  his  readers 
for  having  preferred  to  gratify  the  wishes  of 
the  public,  though  at  the  risk  of  disappoint- 
ing their  expectations,  rather  than  to  attempt, 
by  a  farther  postponement  of  the  publication, 
to  render  it  better  deserving  of  their  favour. 
The  Author  has  not  felt,  and  hopes  he  has 
not  shown  himself,  insensible  to  the  delicacy 
of  his  undertaking, — a  consideration  which 
nothing  but  a  conviction  of  duty  could  have 
enabled  him  to  overcome.  He  is  quite  aware 
of  the  disadvantages  under  which  he  labours, 
on  the  score  of  near  relationship;  but  he 
trusts  that  he  has  not  brought  himself,  to  any 


PREFACE. 


material  extent,  under  the  suspicion  of  undue 
partiality;  and  he  has  endeavoured,  as  far  as 
possible,  to  escape  this  charge,  by  the  plan 
which  he  has  adopted,  of  allowing  the  subject 
of  his  Memoirs  to  speak,  in  a  great  measure, 
for  himself,  or  of  finding  others  to  speak  for 
him. — "Personal  knowledge,"  says  Southey, 
in  his  Life  of  Cowper,  "is,  indeed,  the 
greatest  of  all  advantages  for  such  an  under- 
taking, notwithstanding  the  degree  of  re- 
straint which  must  generally  be  regarded  as 
one  of  its  conditions.  But  when  his  letters 
are  accessible,  the  writer  may  in  great  part 
be  made  his  own  biographer, — more  fully, 
and  perhaps  more  faithfully,  than  if  he  had 
composed  his  own  memoirs,  even  with  the 
most  sincere  intentions.  For  in  letters,  feel- 
ings, and  views,  and  motives  are  related  as 
they  existed  at  the  time;  whereas,  in  retro- 
spect, much  must  of  necessity  be  overlooked, 
and  much  be  lost." 

Dr.  M'Crie  never  kept  a  private  Diary. 
The  letters  addressed  to  himself,  many  of 
them  from  the  first  literary  characters  of  the 
age,  accumulated  to  such  an  inconvenient  ex- 
cess, that,  with  few  exceptions  in  favour  of 


Vi  PREFACE. 


private  friends,  they  were  all,  at  certain  in- 
tervals, committed  to  the  flames.  To  his 
own  letters,  therefore,  the  biographer  had 
chiefly  to  look  for  his  materials;  and  these,  it 
is  believed,  will  be  considered  the  most  inte- 
resting parts  of  the  Memoir. 

In  tracing  the  public  life  of  Dr.  M'Crie, 
his  memorialist  has  been  obliged  to  tread  oc- 
casionally over  very  delicate  and  debatable 
ground;  and  he  can  truly  say,  that  he  has 
endeavoured,  to  the  utmost  of  his  power,  to 
avoid  hurting  the  feelings  of  any,  or  mingling 
the  acrimony  of  party-spirit  with  his  accounts 
of  the  controversies,  more  recent  or  more 
remote,  in  which  his  father  was  involved. 
With  regard  to  the  most  painful  of  these — 
the  breach  of  1806 — it  was  not  the  Author's 
original  purpose  to  have  enlarged  near  so 
much  as  he  has  done;  but  late  attempts  to  re- 
vive misrepresentations  which  he  conceived 
had  been  completely  set  at  rest,  left  him  no 
other  alternative  than  either  to  suffer  these  to 
pass  as  acknowledged  truths,  or  to  give  a  plain 
unvarnished  statement  of  the  facts  as  they 
occurred.  The  mantle  of  delicacy  and  for- 
bearance, with  which  he  was  at  first  disposed 


PREFACE,  Ml 

to  cover  the  scenes  of  that  period,  having 
been  torn  away  by  other  hands,  the  disclo- 
sures now  made  are  no  more  than  what  were 
absolutely  necessary  for  the  ends  of  justice, 
whether  as  regards  the  subject  of  these  Me- 
moirs, or  the  transactions  in  which  he  took 
a  part. 

The  Author  is  painfully  conscious  how 
little  justice  he  has  done  to  the  important 
topics  and  events  connected  with  the  life  of 
his  father;  but  into  many  of  these  he  has 
purposely  abstained  from  entering;  having 
all  along  written  under  the  impression  that 
he  was  merely  preparing  what  the  early 
French  writers  call  ^^  Memoir es pour  servir  a 
Vhistoire,''^  or  furnishing  his  contribution  for 
the  guidance  of  the  future  historian  of  the 
Church,  in  treating  of  the  period  embraced 
by  the  Life, — a  period  to  which  we  of  the 
present  age  live  too  close,  perhaps,  to  form 
either  a  full  or  an  unbiassed  judgment. 

The  Author  has  now  only  to  return  his 
thanks  to  those  of  his  own,  and  his  father's 
friends,  who  have  so  kindly  aided  and  en- 
riched his  work,  by  furnishing  him  with  his 
father's  letters;  and  to  express  his  hope,  that 


Vm  PREFACE. 

this  humble  attempt  to  complete  the  picture 
which  Dr.  M'Crie's  writings  afford  of  his 
mind  and  character,  may,  at  least,  not  be  re- 
garded as  detracting  from  the  high  fame 
which  these  writings  have  acquired  for  him, 
in  the  world  of  literature  and  of  religion. 

Edinbcrgh,  Jipril  21, 1840. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  FIRST. 
1772-1796. 

Birth  and  Parentage  of  Dr.  M'Crie — Religious  Training — 
Early  Employment  in  Teaching — Anecdote  of  his  Mother — 
His  Academical  Studies — Mr.  Gray's  Recollections  of  Him 
— He  Teaches  a  School  in  Brechin — His  Early  Habits  and 
Amusements — Religious  Character — General  Character  in 
Youth — Political  Sentiments — He  Completes  his  Course 
at  College — His  License  and  Settlement  in  Edinburgh^ 
Popular  Election,  .  .  .  Page  13 

CHAPTER  SECOND. 
179G-1804. 

His  Marriage — Mission  to  Orkney — Private  Diligence — Pri- 
vate Character  at  this  Period — Disinterested  Conduct — 
His  First  Publication — Strictness  of  Principle — Pamphlets 
on  Faith — Character  of  the  Original  Secession — Overture 
of  a  New  Testimony — Attempts  at  Concealing  the  Change 
— The  Protesting  Brethren — Professor  Bruce — Messrs. 
Aitken,  Whytock,  Chalmers,  and  Hogg — The  Act  of  1796 
— Dr.  M'Crie's  Early  Sentiments  on  the  Question  of  the 
Magistrate's  Power — Progress  of  his  Sentiments — Synod 
Sermon — Petition  to  the  General  Synod,  1800 — Letter  to 
Mr.  Bruce — Mr.  Bruce's  Reply — Dr.  M'Crie's  Course  of 
Study  on  the  Question — Opening  of  his  Views — Summary 
View  of  the  Controversy — His  Feelings  on  entering  into 
Controversy,  ....  Page  33 


X  COKTENTS. 

CHAPTER  THIRD. 

1804-1811. 

Progress  of  Matters  in  the  General  Synod — Royal  Fasts — 
Conditions  Imposed  on  the  Protesters — Their  Perplexities 
— Final  Protestation  of  the  Four  Brethren — State  of  Dr. 
M'Crie's  Congregation — He  is  Cited  to  the  Bar  of  Synod 
— The  Protesters  Constitute  a  Presbytery — Dr.  M'Crie's 
Deposition — First  Sabbath  after  Deposition — Address  to 
his  People — Reflections — His  Foresight  of  Future  Strug- 
gles— Litigation — Publication  of  "  the  Statement " — De- 
position of  Mr.  Aitken — And  of  Messrs.  Bruce  and  Chal- 
mers— Publications  by  the  Protesters — The  Constitutional 
Presbytery — The  Christian  Magazine — American  Revivals 
— Life  of  Henderson — Literary  Projects — The  Catholic 
Bill — His  111  Health — Domestic  Bereavement,        Page  88 

CHAPTER  FOURTH. 

1811-1813. 

Publication  of  the  Life  of  Knox — Inducements  to  the  Un- 
dertaking— Method  of  Composition — Criticisms  on  the 
Life — The  Edinburgh  Review — The  Quarterly  Review — 
The  British  Critic — Importance  of  the  Subject — Urgent 
Need  for  the  Work — Robertson's  History  of  Scotland — 
Cook's  History  of  the  Reformation — Character  of  the  Life 
of  Knox — Main  Design  of  the  Author — Effects  of  the 
Work — Editions  and  Translations  of  the  Life  of  Knox — 
Academical  Degree,  .  .  .  Page  144 

CHAPTER  FIFTH. 

1813-1821. 

Dr.  M'Crie's  Share  in  Religious  Societies — Gaelic  School 
Society — Christianizatiou  of  India — Death  of  Professor 
Bruce — Persecution  of  the  Protestants  in  France — Dr.  An- 
drew Thomson — Correspondence  with  Dr.  Thomson — Re- 
view of  Tales  of  My  Landlord — Sir  George  Mackenzie's 
History— Funeral  of  Princess  Charlotte — Life  of  Andrew 
Melville — Reviews  of  Life  of  Melville — Independence  of 


CONTENTS.  XI 

the  Church— Union  of  Seceders,  1820— Dr.  M'Crie's  Cor- 
respondence on  this  Union — His  Solicitude  for  Union — 
Discourses  on  Unity  of  the  Church — Forebodings — Death 
of  Mrs.  M'Crie,  .  .  .  Page  174 

CHAPTER  SIXTH. 

1821-1829- 

His  Visit  to  Holland — Anecdote — His  Interest  in  the  Cause 
of  the  Greeks — His  Character  as  a  Preacher — Biblical 
Criticism — Correspondence  with  Sir  George  Sinclair — Sy- 
nod of  Original  Seceders — Memoirs  of  Veitch  and  Brysson 
— History  of  the  Reformation  in  Italy — History  of  the  Re- 
formation in  Spain — Catholic  Emancipation,        Page  237 

CHAPTER  SEVENTH. 
1829-1835. 
Private  Correspondence — Death  of  Dr.  Thomson — The  Mar- 
row Controversy — The  Voluntary  Controversy — Education 
in  Ireland — Church  Patronage — Examination  before  Com- 
mittee of  House  of  Commons — Churchmen  and  Volun- 
taries— The  Veto  Act — Correspondence  with  J.  C.  Col- 
quhoun,  Esq.,  on  Patronage  and  Independence  of  the  Church 
— Commencement  of  Life  of  Calvin — Correspondence  with 
the  Rev.  William  Tweedie — Death  of  Brethren — The  As- 
sembly's Fast — Reasons  of  a  Fast — His  Last  Days — His 
Death— Reflections— Mr.  John  M'Crie— Life  of  Calvin, 

Page  276 

CHAPTER  EIGHTH. 

Private  Character  of  Dr.  M'Crie — Anecdotes — Private  Sen- 
timents— Conclusion,  .  .  .        Page  347 

APPENDIX. 

No.  L  His  Petition  to  the  General  Synod  in  1800,  Page  371 

II.  Address  delivered  to  his  Congregation, — June 

1806,  374 

III.  Character  of  Dr.  Charles  Stuart,  of  Dunearn,  382 


CONTENTS. 


IV.  Speech  at  Public  Meeting  in  behalf  of  the 

Greeks, — August,  7,  1822,  Page  385 

V.  Speech  at  the  Scottish  Ladies'  Society  for 
Promoting  Education   in   Greece, — delivered 

April  9,  1825,  ....  391 

VI.  Petition  against  the  Roman  Catholic  Claims,         395 

VII.  Character  of  the  late  Dr.  Thomson,  398 

VIII.  Speech  at  the  Meeting  on  Education  in  Ireland,  402 

IX.  Speech  at  the  Meeting  of  the  Anti-Patronage 
Society,— January  30,  1833,  .  .  408 

X.  Speech  at  the  Meeting  of  the  Anti-Patronage 

Society, — January  1834,  415 

XI.  List  of  Dr.  M'Crie's  Writings,  .  .        421 


THE 


LIFE    OF    DR.    M'CRIE 


CHAPTER  I. 


FROM  HIS  BIRTH  TO  HIS  SETTLEMENT  IN  EDINBURGH. 

1772-1796. 

Dr.  M'Crie  was  born  at  Dunse,  the  county  town  of 
Berwickshire,  in  November  1772.*  He  was  the 
eldest  of  a  large  family,  consisting  of  four  sons  and 
three  daughters,  of  whom  only  one  of  the  daughters 
now  survives.  His  father,  Thomas  M'Crie,  was  a 
manufacturer  and  merchant  in  Dunse,  and,  by  his 
industry,  acquired  a  small  property  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Coldingham;  but  spent  his  latter  da)^s  in  his 
native  town,  where  he  died,  March  6th,  1823,  in  the 
seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  a  strictly  re- 
ligious man,  noted  for  his  shrewd  intelligence  and  a 
species  of  caustic  humour,  and  much  respected  by  all 
who  knew  him. 

His  mother,  Mary  Hood,  was  the  daughter  of  Mr. 
John  Hood,  a  respectable  farmer  in  the  vicinity  of 
Dunse,  and  allied  to  different  families  of  that  name 
who  still  follow  the  same  occupation  in  Berwickshire 
and  East  Lothian.  She  was  a  woman  of  a  superior 
mind,  of  exemplary  piety,  and  the  most  amiable  dis- 

*  His  birth-day  cannot  be  ascertained  with  certainty.  He  him- 
self paid  no  regard  to  it.  The  parish  register  records  the  date 
of  his  baptism,  "  22d  November,  1772."  The  index  to  the  regis- 
ter places  it  under  1774,  and  this  error  has  found  its  way  into  the 
New  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland.  Those  who  are  fond  of 
topographical  associations,  may  be  reminded  that  Dunse  was  the 
birth-place  of  two  men  of  note  in  their  respective  periods,  though 
on  very  different  accounts, — Duns  Scotus,  the  famed  scholastic 
doctor  of  the  14th  century;  and  Thomas  Boston,  author  of  "The 
Fourfold  State,"' — whom  Dr.  M'Crie  reckoned  the  most  useful 
writer  that  Scotland  ever  produced. 


14  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

positions.  From  his  father  he  appears  to  have  in- 
lierited  a  vigorous  constitution  and  a  masculine 
understanding;  from  his  mother,  the  ahnost  feminine 
sensibility  of  his  nature.  The  mutual  attacliment 
between  this  truly  excellent  mother  and  her  first- 
born, was  of  no  ordinary  kind.  He  has  been  fre- 
quently heard  to  trace  to  her  example,  her  instruc- 
tions, and  her  prayers,  his  first  serious  impressions  of 
religion;  and  to  relate,  with  much  feeling,  how  deeply 
he  was  affected  by  what  he  heard  at  a  female  prayer- 
meeting,  to  which  her  kind  hand  conducted  him  when 
he  was  a  mere  child.*  Nor  did  he  fail,  on  his  part, 
in  his  duty  to  this  afiectionate  parent;  he  would 
spend  the  time  allotted  by  other  boys  of  his  age  to 
play,  in  watching  the  sick  bed  of  his  mother,  who 
was  long  in  delicate  health,  and  even  aiding  her  in 
thejsperformance  of  domestic  duties.  To  use  the 
expression  of  an  old  servant  of  the  family,  who  is  still 
alive,  "he  was  aye  manly  in  his  carriage," — as  an 
instance  of  which,  she  recollects  of  his  being  em- 
ployed, in  the  absence  of  his  father,  to  conduct  the 
family  worship,  and  catechise  the  servants,  when  he 
could  be  little  more  than  ten  years  of  age. 

Dr.  M'Crie's  parents  being  connected  with  that 
branch  of  the  Secession  usually  termed  Antiburghers, 
he  was  brought  up  under  the  ministry  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Why  te,  at  a  period  when  the  primitive  strictness 
of  that  communion  was  retained  in  a  measure  which 
is  now  almost  unknown. t  In  these  circumstances, 
he  received  that  thoroughly  religious  education,  of 
the  importance  of  which  he  was  ever  afterwards  so 
strenuous  an  advocate,  and  of  the  success  of  which 
he  was  himself  a  striking  example.     His  own  incli- 

*  One  of  her  servants  remembers  well  the  advice  she  received 
from  her  "quiet  and  pleasant  mistress:"  "  Begin  the  day  vi'ith 
God;  and  take  a  little  time  to  yourself,  before  beginning  my 
work." 

t  He  used  to  mention,  with  a  smile,  the  first  two  questions  ge- 
nerally put  to  children  in  his  younger  days  :  "  Which  is  the  best 
book  in  the  world?  "  "  The  Bible."  "  Which  is  the  next  best?" 
"  The  Confession  of  Faith." 


RELIGIOUS  TRAINING.  15 

nation,  coinciding  with  the  ardent  wishes  of  his 
mother,  led  him,  at  a  very  early  period,  to  choose  the 
profession  of  the  sacred  ministry,  and  to  direct  his 
studies  toward  that  ohject.  He  was  tau^^jht  the  ele- 
ments of  classical  education  by  Mr.  Crookshanks, 
parish  schoolmaster  of  Dunse.  At  this  time,  his  avi- 
dity in  the  pursuit  of  learning  attracted  the  notice  of 
all  around  him.  Sedate  and  studious  in  his  habits, 
he  would  often  retire  to  the  fields,  and  there,  not 
only  forsaking  his  companions,  but  forfeiting  his  ordi- 
nary meals,he  would  spend  the  live-long  day  in  poring 
over  his  books.  With  sucli  application,  his  progress, 
it  may  well  be  supposed,  was  rapid,  and  advanced 
beyond  what  is  common  in  one  of  his  years;  and  he 
thus  acquired  in  his  youth  that  classical  taste  which 
is  rarely  the  attainment  of  those  who  commence  their 
studies  at  a  later  period  of  life. 

Another  circumstance  which  had  a  powerful  influ- 
ence in  confirming  and  enlarging  his  early  acquisi- 
tions, may  be  here  noticed.  His  father  discouraged 
the  prosecution  of  his  studies,  declaring,  from  a  feel- 
ing not  very  common  among  Scottish  parents,  in 
much  more  limited  circumstances,  that  he  "would  not 
make  a  gentleman  of  one  of  his  sons,  at  the  expense 
of  the  rest;"  and  it  was  only  through  the  kind  inter- 
ference of  his  maternal  grandfather,  and  other  rela- 
tions, that  he  was  allowed  to  proceed  in  his  literary 
career.  Thus  encouraged,  however,  he  threw  him- 
self on  his  own  resources;  and  with  a  manliness  and 
resolution  little  to  be  expected  at  his  time  of  life, 
he  earned  for  himself  the  ways  and  means  by  which, 
with  the  occasional  help  of  his  friends,  who  dis- 
covered the  promising  abilities  of  the  future  histo- 
rian, he  was  enabled  to  meet  the  expenses  of  his  edu- 
cation. Before  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  he  taught 
successively  two  country  schools  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Dunse.  In  17SS  he  acted  for  a  short  time 
as  usher  in  the  parish  school  of  Kelso,  and  shortly 
afterwards  served  in  the  same  capacity  in  East  Lin- 
ton. While  employed  in  these  situations,  every  one 
was  struck  with  the  extremely  youthful  appearance  of 


16  LIFE   OF  DR.  M'CIUE. 

"the  dominie,"  who  was,  in  fact,  little  older  than  the 
boys  whom  he  taught,  and  with  whom  he  would  join 
in  their  out-door  amusements;  though,  during  school 
hours,  he  maintained  over  them  the  most  perfect 
control.  It  might  be  mentioned  here,  perhaps, 
that,  with  all  his  fondness  for  study,  he  delighted 
and  excelled  in  rural  sports,  could  lend  a  hand  in  the 
lighter  labours  of  the  farm,  and  was  famed  for  his 
feats  in  horsemanship;  thus  giving  proof  of  that  acti- 
vity and  boldness,  for  the  display  of  which  he  after- 
wards found  a  very  different  field. 

The  following  incident,  which  marked  the  com- 
mencement of  Dr.  M'Crie's  academical  course,  pre- 
sents an  appropriate  close  to  that  precious  maternal 
tuition  of  which  we  have  already  spoken.  On  his  first 
setting  out  to  attend  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  his 
mother  accompanied  him  part  of  the  way,  and  before 
taking  leave  of  him,  led  him  into  a  field  near  the  road, 
on  Coldingham  Moor,  and  kneeling  down  with  him 
behind  a  rock,  affectionately  and  solemnly  devoted 
him  to  the  service,  and  commended  him  to  the  fatherly 
care,  of  his  covenant  God.  The  Christian  reader  alone 
can  appreciate  this  affecting  scene: — it  was  not  Amil- 
car  swearing  Hannibal  to  perpetual  war  against  the 
Romans;  it  was  Hannah,  the  pious  mother  of  Samuel, 
"lending  her  son  to  the  Lord."  In  the  following 
year,  he  was  deprived  of  this  invaluable  parent,  and 
the  tidings  of  her  death  having  reached  him  in  Edin- 
burgh, before  he  had  received  any  information  of  her 
last  illness,  the  event  proved  one  of  the  most  poignant 
afflictions  of  his  life.  He  seldom,  even  long  after- 
wards, spoke  of  her  without  the  tear  of  filial  afiec- 
tion;  and  down  to  the  termination  of  his  own  course, 
his  very  dreams  indicated  the  hold  which  her  memory 
retained  on  every  grateful  feeling  of  his  heart. 

When  sixteen  years  of  age,  he  became  a  student 
in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  in  December  1788, 
— a  year  marked  in  the  annals  of  the  Secession  by 
the  death  of  the  Rev.  Adam  Gib,  the  John  Knox 
of  his  da}'  in  that  denomination,  both  as  a  popular 
powerful  preacher,  and  a  bold  unflinching  champion 


HIS  ACADEMICAL  STUDIES.  17 

of  the  principles  of  the  Reformation.  During  this 
session,  and  the  two  immediately  succeeding,  he 
attended,  in  their  usual  order,  the  Latin,  Gr^ek, 
Hebrew,  Mathematics,  Logic,  and  Moral  Philosophy- 
classes.  The  names  of  Hill,  Dalzell,  Play  fair,  and 
Finlayson,  he  honoured  with  modest  respect;  but, 
like  all  his  contemporaries,  he  was  fascinated  with 
the  beau  ideal  oi 3iC3Ldem[c3i\  eloquence  which  adorned 
the  Moral  Chair  in  the  person  of  Dugald  Stewart. 
Long  after  he  had  sat  under  his  admired  teacher,  he 
would  describe  with  rapture  his  early  emotions,  while 
looking  on  the  handsomely  erect  and  elastic  figure 
of  the  professor,  in  every  attitude  a  model  for  the 
statuary,  listening  to  expositions,  whether  of  facts  or 
principles,  always  clear  as  the  transparent  stream, 
and  charmed  by  the  tones  of  a  voice  which  modulated 
into  spoken  music  every  expression  of  intelligence 
and  feeling.  An  esteemed  friend  of  his  happening 
to  say  to  him  some  years  ago,  "1  have  been  hearing 
Dr.  Brown  lecture  with  all  the  eloquence  of  Dugald 
Stewart."  "No,  Sir,"  he  exclaimed,  with  an  air  of 
almost  Johnsonian  decision,  "you  have  not,  and  no 
man  ever  will." 

It  seems  but  justice  to  acknowledge  that  Dr.  M'Crie 
was  more  indebted  to  the  eloquent  Professor  of 
Moral  Philosophy,  than  to  any  other  of  his  college 
teachers.  The  scholar,  indeed,  found  reason  to  dis- 
sent from  several  of  the  doctrines  of  his  master,  in 
their  bearing  on  theology;  but  he  could  appre- 
ciate the  value  of  that  philosopher's  anti-skeptical 
common-sense  strain  of  philosophy,  and  sympathized 
with  the  glowing  ardour  in  behalf  of  civil  liberty, 
which  gave  power  and  pathos  to  some  of  his  most 
eloquent  lectures.  The  high  polish  of  manner  and 
diction  which  distinguish  the  works  of  an  author 
whom  Englishmen  have  characterized  as  the  best 
English  writer  in  Scotland,  and  the  finest  philoso- 
phical writer  in  Britain,  he  eitiier  sought  not  to 
attain  or  enjoyed  not  the  means  of  acquiring;  but 
some  of  the  best  lessons  of  this  accomplished  scholar 
2* 


18  LIFE  OF  DR.    M'CPaE. 

he  appears  both  to  have  studied  and  to  have  mas- 
tered. From  huB  he  learned  the  habit  of  accurate 
unwearied  research,  the  happy  art  of  perspicuous 
statement,  and  the  invakiable  secret  of  pointing  all 
his  statements  into  conclusions  of  practical  utility. 

Dr.  M'Crie  never  sought  to  excel  in  mathematical 
pursuits.  In  his  Life  of  Dr.  Robertson,  Mr.  Stewart 
remarks,  that  the  taste  of  the  Principal,  even  in  his 
early  years,  disposed  him  more  to  moral  and  political 
speculation,  than  to  the  study  of  the  abstract  sciences. 
And  the  reader  of  our  author's  works,  and  those 
of  Dr.  Robertson,  can  hardly  fail  to  observe,  that 
scarcely  ever  do  either  of  them  borrow  expressions  or 
illustrations  from  subjects  of  abstract  investigation, 
or  physical  and  mechanical  philosophy.  Languages, 
moral  and  political  science,  history,  philology,  elo- 
quence, and  in  some  degree  poetry,  were  Dr.  M'Crie's 
favourite  studies  in  the  days  of  his  studentship,  Ta- 
citus, Livy,  and  Cicero,  were  his  most  carefully 
conned  classics;  and  an  advice  of  Mr.  Stewart  to 
his  students,  to  keep  some  Latin  author  as  a  vade- 
mecum,  he  appears  to  have  followed  to  the  close 
of  his  life.  It  may  be  mentioned,  that  the  books 
which  furnished  the  general  reading  of  students  at 
the  period  of  his  attendance  at  the  University,  and 
which  have  exerted  no  small  influence  on  Scottish 
literature  generally,  were  the  Histories  of  Hume, 
Robertson,  Watson,  and  Ferguson;  the  philosophical 
works  of  Locke,  Smith,  and  Reid;  Blair's  Lectures, 
and  Campbell's  Philosophy  of  Rhetoric,  and  Kame's 
Elements  of  Criticism. 

Here,  however,  where  my  information  must  neces- 
sarily have  been  obtained  at  second-hand,  I  consider 
myself  fortunate  in  having  prevailed  on  the  Rev. 
James  Gray  of  Brechin,  one  of  my  father's  earliest 
and  most  intimate  friends,  to  furnish  me  with  the 
following  recollections  of  this  portion  of  his  history, 
which  cannot  fail  to  be  interesting  to  my  readers. 
The  high  admiration  which  Mr.  Gray  entertains  for 
the  memorv  of  his  friend,  must  be  held  to  excuse  him 


MR.  gray's  recollections.  19 

for  the  weight  Avhich  he  attaches  to  details,  too 
minute,  perhaps,  to  be  appreciated  by  many  of  my 
readers,  to  whom  they  do  not  come  associated  with 
the  charm  which  early  recollections  bear  in  the  eyes 
of  those  who  have  descended  into  the  vale  of  life. 

"Never  having  been  in  any  class  at  the  same  time 
with  your  father,  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  state,  from 
observation,  to  what  degree  his  College  exhibitions 
gave  promise  of  his  future  eminence.  I  have  heard 
that  he  was  a  great  favourite  with  the  highly  respect- 
able and  pains-taking  Greek  Professor,  and  doubt  not 
that  he  shared  in  all  his  meeds  of  commendation, 
from  bene  and  bene  dixisti,  up  to  optime  and  optinie 
quidem  dicis.  Of  other  more  substantial  and  durable 
tokens  of  distinction,  there  were  then  hardly  any  in 
the  University  of  Edinburgh.  In  the  literary  and 
philosophical  classes,  there  was  no  display  of  prizes 
to  tempt  the  young  competitor  to  the  comparative 
trial  of  talent  and  diligence;  and  there  is  some  rea- 
son to  question,  whether  any  temptation  would  have 
lured  our  student  to  the  contest.  Pecuniary  reward 
he  always  rated  very  low;  and  though  surely  ambi- 
tious, and  that  in  no  slight  degree,  of  personal  excel- 
lence, he  avoided,  wherever  it  was  in  his  power,  the 
display  of  superiority  at  the  cost  of  mortification  to  a 
rival.  Be  the  worth  what  it  may  of  the  Roman  let- 
ters, which  a  diploma  of  the  Senatus  Academicus 
authorizes  its  bachelors  and  masters  to  superadd  to 
name  and  surname,  in  Edinburgh  the  appendages 
were  seldom  sought.  The  degree  which  young  men 
bestow  on  one  another,  in  the  summary  and  expres- 
sive epithet  'clever,'  was  speedily  conferred  on  your 
father;  and  had  First  Wrangler  been  an  Edinburgh 
distinction,  and  to  be  earned  by  a  display  of  acute- 
ness  and  power  in  a  dispute,  all  his  fellows  in  the 
debating  society  would  have  awarded  the  honour  to 
him.  I  can  never  forget  the  first  sight  I  obtained  of 
him.  It  happened  to  be  on  a  Saturday  afternoon, 
and  at  a  meeting  of  students  in  the  session-house 
belonging  to  Mr.  Gib's  congregation.     His  attire  was 


20  LIFE   OF  DR.   M'CRIE. 

homely,  his  air  modest  and  unpretending,  and  bis 
manner  of  speaking  full  of  life  and  energy.  Alto- 
gether, the  profile  was  an  exact  miniature  of  the 
■figure  which  was  seen  in  Merchants'  Hall  more  than 
thirty  years  after;  and  the  youthful  reasonings  and 
replies,  gave  pledge  of  almost  all  the  force,  and  more 
than  the  fluency,  which  marked  the  pleadings  of  the 
later  period  in  behalf  of  the  oppressed. 

"The  close  of  his  third  session  introduces  your 
father  under  a  different  character.  Liidimagister  in 
schola  triviali  was  tlie  low  taunt  by  which  Salmasius 
attempted  to  diminish  the  author  of  Defensio  Popiili 
Jlnglicani  and  of  Paradise  Lost.  Dr.  M'Crie  deemed 
it  no  degradation  to  any  man  to  be  a  teacher  of 
babes;  and,  as  you  know,  very  feelingly  refers  to  the 
record  which  represents  Buchanan,  in  his  estimate  the 
most  original  of  all  Scottish  writers,  employing  some 
of  the  latest  hours  of  his  life  in  instructing  his  young 
attendant  in  letters  and  syllables.  In  May  1791,  our 
student  commenced,  teacher  of  a  school  connected, 
with  the  congregation  of  my  father,  the  Rev.  John 
Oray,  Antiburgher  minister  in  Brechin.  In  this 
situation  he  continued  three  years,  devoting  to  the 
humble  vocation  the  whole  year,  with  the  exception 
of  the  harvest  months,  which  were  occupied  by  his 
attendance  on  the  Divinity  Hall. 

"The  school  was  opened  with  three  very  young 
scholars,  but  soon  became  numerous  and  respectable. 
It  has  subsisted  now  nearly  its  half  century,  and  has 
afforded  to  thousands  the  means  of  common  educa- 
tion at  a  very  cheap  rate.  The  founder  always  took 
a  lively  interest  in  its  prosperity ;  and  in  the  last  visit 
he  paid  to  it,  which  was  within  a  few  weeks  of  his 
death,  seemed  to  look  with  parental  fondness  on  the 
flourishing  appearance  of  the  institution. 

"In  his  own  exercise  of  the  lowly  calling,  he 
showed  a  fine  example  of  high  principle,  stooping  to 
the  lowest  duties  of  an  allotted  station  witli  conscien- 
tious punctuality  and  contentment.  Always  true  to 
the  opinion,  which  he  ever  held,  of  the  necessity  and 


TEACHES  A  SCHOOL  IN  BRECHIN.  21 

advantage  of  combining  religion  and  education,  he 
mingled,  with  all  the  school  exercises,  the  reading  of 
the  Scriptures,  and  the  teaching  of  the  Shorter  Cate- 
chism, as  well  as  some  of  its  sound  summaries.  In 
the  government  of  his  little  community,  the  restraints 
of  authority,  and  the  indulgences  of  a  kind  demean- 
our, were  happily  blended,  and  procured  for  the 
teacher  the  respect  and  love  of  all  the  scholars.  The 
very  young  looked  reveringly  up  to  him  as  a  perfect 
pattern,  and  the  more  advanced  honoured  him  with 
a  judicious  esteem,  which  the  survivors  still  continue 
to  cherish  in  all  their  remembrances  of  him.  One  of 
the  most  respected  of  them,  James  Speid,  Esquire, 
banker  in  Brechin,  and  lately  Provost,  has  kindly 
furnished  the  following  recollections  of  his  precep- 
tor:— 

"'I  regret  that  my  reminiscences  of  the  Doctor 
are  so  scanty.  I  was  a  pupil  of  his  when  he  taught 
a  private  school  in  Brechin,  in  1792-3.  I  have  a 
perfect  recollection  of  his  person  at  that  time,  which 
was  handsome;  his  stature  above  the  ordinary  height 
— his  countenance  mild  and  prepossessing — a  fine  set 
of  teeth — and  a  peculiar  mark  on  his  right  eye-brow, 
which  was  nearly  half  white,  and  the  other  brown.* 
He  then  kept  a  school  in  a  large  room  in  Meal  Mar- 
ket Wynd,  now  called  Swan  Street,  and  metand  dis- 
missed his  scholars,  morning  and  evening,  with  prayer, 
in  a  very  solemn  manner.  He  had  much  of  the  art 
of  keeping  order  without  punishing,  and  often  relaxed 
into  playful  cheerfulness  with  his  scholars.  I  re- 
member accompanying  him,  on  a  Saturday  afternoon, 
to  visit  my  worthy  uncle,  about  five  miles  from 
Brechin,  and  he  seemed  to  enjoy  the  little  trip  ex- 
ceedingly, particularly  the  ruins  of  Melgund  Castle, 
one  of  the  retreats  of  Cardinal  Beatoun.     I  then  slept 

*  The  mark  here  referred  to,  which  struck  strangers  so  forcibly, 
was  occasioned,  in  his  own  opinion,  by  lightning.  His  attention 
was  first  drawn  to  it  by  the  boys  in  tiie  school-room,  who  tittered 
on  observing  what  they  supposed  to  be  a  stray  patch  of  hair- 
powder  ;  and  one  of  them,  on  being  called  up,  requested  him  to 
wipe  his  oye-brow. 


22  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

with  him,  and  had  occasion  to  observe  the  spirit  of 
devotion  that  imbued  his  mind, — far  surpassing  any 
idea  I  had  previously  formed  of  a  great  and  good 
man.' 

"The  time  wliicli  the  schoohnaster  gave  up  to  the 
instruction  of  others  was  not  lost  with  respect  to  his 
own  improvement.  He  was  not,  indeed,  the  plod- 
ding book-worm,  and  his  acquaintances  did  not  mark 
him  out  as  ever  likely  to  become  the  man  of  intense 
application  and  indefatigable  research.  Some  of  his 
surviving  scholars,  however,  have  recorded  the  obser- 
vation, that  in  the  school,  while  every  call  of  pro- 
fessional duty  was  immediately  answered,  all  the  spare 
moments  were  given  to  his  own  reading  and  studies. 
There  is  reason,  too,  for  believing  that  with  the  quiet, 
unostentatious  energy  which  was  a  part  of  his  charac- 
ter, he  made  more  use  of  the  midnight  lamp  than 
many  of  his  friends  suspected.  This  is  certain,  that, 
whether  prepared  by  day  or  by  night,  his  own  tasks 
were  always  ready  when  called  for. 

"The  progi'ess  of  his  mind  during  this  period  of 
his  life  is  to  be  measured,  more  by  the  growth  of  his 
powers,  than  by  the  accessions  which  were  made  to 
his  stock  of  systematic  information.  Nor  is  it  at  all 
improbable,  that,  under  his  active  duties  and  frequent 
opportunities  of  relaxation,  his  mental  faculties,  re- 
leased from  the  restraints  of  swaddling  bands,  ac- 
quired a  degree  of  elasticity  and  vigour  which  they 
might  not  have  attained  under  more  retiring  habits, 
and  closer  engagements  of  continuous  study.  He 
could  be  busy  or  idle,  with  all  his  might,  and  possessed 
"the  rare  power  of  doing  much,  when  he  appeared  to 
be  doing  nothing."  He  studied  man  in  the  living 
delineations  which  an  intercourse  with  different 
grades  of  society  presented;  and  from  the  instances 
in  which  he  had  occasion  to  observe  both  talent  and 
worth  in  the  lower  orders,  was  taught  to  cherish 
sympathy  with  them,  as  well  as  a  generous  affection 
for  his  kind,  and  a  high  disdain  of  that  servile  flattery 
which  is  so  commonly  offered  to  rank  and  riches.     It 


EARLY  HABITS  AND  AMUSEMENTS.  23 

has  been  said,  that  Dean  Swift  was  indebted  for  no 
small  portion  of  thai  powerful  writing,  which  made 
its  way  so  efiectively  to  the  breasts  of  his  country- 
men, to  his  familiar  acquaintance  with  Irish  life  and 
manners;  and  that,  in  order  to  attain  it,  his  custom  in 
his  journeys  was,  to  prefer  the  inferior  lodging- 
houses,  in  which  he  might  have  an  opportunity  of 
observing  genuine  samples  of  the  native  character. 
To  have  seen  your  father  in  the  midst  of  a  reading 
club,  collected  in  a  back  shop,  to  hear  the  news  and 
comments  of  the  London  Courier,  no  man  would 
have  suspected  that  he  was  then  making  any  acqui- 
sitions which  were  to  qualify  him  to  write  the  Life 
of  John  Knox;  and  least  of  all,  did  he  himself  ima- 
gine it.  In  such  scenes,  however,  and  in  the  fellow- 
ship of  some  in  the  humbler  ranks,  who  retained  a 
portion  of  the  spirit  of  the  olden  times,  the  author 
who  knew  how  to  turn  every  opportunity  to  its 
proper  use,  acquired  his  graphic,  compressed,  busi- 
ness style  of  writing;  discovered  both  the  lights  and 
shadows  of  Scottish  character;  was  taught  to  form  a 
just  estimate  of  the  spirit  and  transactions  of  the 
Reformation,  and  was  prepared  to  furnish  that  repre- 
sentation of  them  which  was  so  much  calculated  to 
interest  and  inform  the  Scotsmen  of  his  day. 

"  It  is  a  well-known  fact,  that  some  of  our  greatest 
men  have  been  passionately  devoted,  both  to  seden- 
tary games,  and  to  the  sports  of  the  field.  A  power- 
ful mind  applies  its  decisive  energy  even  to  its 
amusements,  and  finds  in  them  a  training  subservi- 
ent to  the  accomplishment  of  useful  undertakings. 
The  game  of  draughts  was  a  favourite  diversion  with 
our  schoolmaster;  even  in  this  it  was  his  ambition  to 
excel,  and  his  unrivalled  skill  he  attained  by  that 
determined  perseverance  which  procured  for  him 
more  valuable  acquisitions.  It  was  in  one  of  his 
latest  visits  to  Brechin  that  he  disclosed,  in  his  own 
jocular  manner,  the  following  portion  of  his  history. 
He  had  discovered  an  old  man,  a  flax-dresser,  who 
was  rather  eminent  as  a  draughts-player,  and  to  his 


24  LIFE  OP  DR.  M^CRIE. 

shop  he  repaired  duly  every  lawful  evening,  quite 
contented  to  lose  his  halfpenny  stake.  In  process  of 
time  he  learned  to  beat  his  instructor,  and  then  the 
old  man,  to  secure  his  winnings,  would  play  no  more.* 
There  was  another  opportunity  of  healthful  amuse- 
ment, of  which  your  lather  was  very  eager  to  avail 
liimself  in  its  season.  In  the  winter  Saturday  after- 
noons he  was  to  be  seen  in  the  midst  of  the  Curlers' 
Club,  watching  the  turns  of  the  game,  as  if  they  had 
involved  the  fate  of  empires,  and  scanning  the  pur- 
poses and  movements  of  the  master  players,  with 
that  attention  and  sagacity  which  qualify  a  man  to 
judge  of  the  plans  of  statesmen,  and  the  exploits  of 
warriors. 

"The  means  of  ascertaining  the  very  date  and 
measure  of  his  early  reHgious  impressions  would 
appear  to  be  wanting.  The  Doctor  himself  always 
manifested  an  instinctive  aversion  to  any  thing  like 
display  on  that  subject;  and  it  seems  probable  that, 
to  use  a  common  expression  in  its  common  interpre- 
tation, he  imbibed  with  his  mother's  milk  the  know- 
ledge and  love  of  religious  principle;  and  that,  in  a 
manner  insensible  to  himself,  they  grew  with  his 
growth,  and  were  strengthened  with  his  strength. 
The  sure  evidence  and  substantial  effect  of  genuine 
piety  were  exhibited  in  his  consistent  exemplary  de- 
portment. He  was  a  pattern  of  punctual  attendance 
on  public  worship,  and  yielded  a  cheerful  compliance 
with  all  the  rules  of  fellowship  in  the  religious  society 
to  which  he  belonged.    The  prayer-meeting  he  rcgu- 

*  Many  years  after  this,  my  father  would  be  interrupted  in  his 
studies  by  persons  who  came  from  a  distance,  attracted  l)y  hearing 
of  his  skill  in  this  game,  and  anxious,  after  beating  all  their  neigh- 
bours, to  have  a  iriendly  contest  with  him,  which  uniformly  is- 
sued in  their  defeat.  I  may  add,  that  though  he  had  an  indiffe- 
I'ent  ear  for  music,  he  qualified  hiinst^lf,  by  a  similar  course  of 
perseverance,  for  conducting  the  musical  part  of  domestic  wor- 
ship. The  late  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson,  who  was  inclined  to  phre- 
nology, having  discovered  on  liis  head  the  organ  of  music  large- 
ly developed,  my  father  enjoyed  a  hearty  laugh  at  his  friend 
and  the  science,  by  informing  him  how  much  labour  it  had  cost 
an  old  weaver  to  beat  into  his  licad  the  familiar  tune  of  St. 
Paul's. 


RELIGIOUS  CHARACTER,  25 

larly  frequented,  and  he  was  always  ready  to  acknow- 
ledge that  he  had  reaped  much  profit  from  the  com- 
pany and  converse  of  unlettered  Christians.  A  hal- 
lowing reverence  and  love  for  the  whole  Sabbath 
distinguished  and  adorned  all  his  conduct  with  re- 
spect to  it,  and  it  is  scarcely  credible  to  what  ser- 
vices of  lowly  condescension  he  would  submit  to 
save  dishonour  to  the  sacred  day,  willing  even  to  do 
the  duty  of  a  menial,  that  the  time  which  God  had 
blessed  and  sanctified  might  be  reserved  entire  for 
his  worship  and  service. 

"Two  events  of  no  small  importance  in  the  life 
of  the  subject  of  your  work,  took  place  during  the 
first  year  of  his  residence  in  Brechin.  One  was,  his 
joining  in  the  bond  for  the  renewing  of  the  National 
Covenant  of  Scotland,  and  the  Solemn  League  and 
Covenant  of  the  three  nations.  This  solemn  and 
comprehensive  service  was  performed  in  the  congre- 
gation of  which  he  was  a  member,  in  the  month  of 
August  1791.  The  part  he  took  in  it  he  never  re- 
pented, but  always  regarded  as  a  mean  which  had  its 
own  eflfect  in  attaching  him  to  the  great  and  good 
cause,  which  it  was  the  aim  and  the  honour  of  his 
life  to  defend  and  advance. 

"The  other  event  to  which  I  alluded  was,  our 
teacher's  commencing  his  Theological  studies,  and 
being  admitted  a  member  of  the  Divinity  Hall  at 
Whitburn,  in  September  1791.  The  class  was  at 
that  time  under  the  superintendence  of  the  Rev. 
Archibald  Bruce,  who  was  Professor  of  Theology  in 
the  General  Synod,  from  1786  to  1806,  the  year 
of  the  separation.  The  progress  of  your  memoir 
will  doubtless  present  Mr.  Bruce  in  many  interesting 
lights.  At  the  period  when  your  father  obtained  the 
eventful  introduction  to  his  tuition  and  acquaintance, 
every  student  felt  that  no  instructor  was  ever  more 
respected  and  loved  than  was  the  learned,  able,  ve- 
nerable, and  delicately  modest  recluse  of  Whitburn; 
and  of  all  his  students,  no  one  more  justly  appre- 
ciated his  worth,  than  did  the  young  man  who  was 


26  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

yet  unapprized  of  the  peculiar  place  he  was  to  occupy 
in  his  friendship,  and  of  the  communion  of  sufi'ering, 
in  which  he  was  at  no  very  distant  day  to  be  asso- 
ciated with  him. 

"In  May,  1794,  our  student  bade  farewell  to 
Brechin,  and  to  the  schoolmaster's  occupation.  The 
haffiin  boyish  air  which  he  brought  with  him  in  1791 
had  given  place  to  the  vigorous,  comely  port  of  man- 
hood. His  mind  showed  the  full-drawn  traits  of 
power  and  vivacity;  his  manners  were  courteous  and 
kind,  and  the  generosity  of  his  conduct  was  almost 
culpable  in  his  forgetfulness  and  indifference  with 
respect  to  his  own  interest.  In  circumstances  which 
afforded  no  adequate  remuneration  to  his  exertions, 
he  was  ever  to  be  seen  cheerful  and  buoyant,  as  are 
the  tenants  of  the  air,  who  sing  among  the  branches. 
His  innocent  playfulness,  with  conscious  rectitude  and 
good  will,  threw  by  the  cautious  reserve  which  perpe- 
tually fears  misconstruction.  "  The  clever  School- 
master" was  the  appellation  by  which  he  was  known 
all  over  the  town;  and  some  fathers  in  the  ministry, 
and  those  who  yielded  to  none  in  admiration  of  tlie 
subsequent  productions  of  his  pen,  were  in  the  habit 
of  speaking  of  him  under  the  Scottish  abbreviation 
of  the  Christian  name,  which  was  in  due  time  to  be 
honoured  with  the  doctoral  prefix.  At  this  stage  of 
his  life  no  man  expected  him  to  write  the  lives  of 
Knox  and  Melville,  but  his  acquaintances  had  already 
set  him  down  as  capable  of  doing  some  of  their 
deeds.  There  are  two  anecdotes, — the  one  of  Knox, 
and  the  other  of  Melville, — which  I  take  leave  to 
insert  from  the  well-known  works,  because,  had  he 
been  placed  in  the  circumstances  to  which  they  refer, 
they  would,  I  verily  believe,  have  been  a  portion  of 
the' history  of  the  subject  of  your  biography.  '^  One 
fme  day  a  painted  image  of  the  Virgin  was  brought 
into  one  of  the  galleys,  and  a  Scots  prisoner  was 
desired  to  give  it  the  kiss  of  adoration.  He  refused,, 
saying,  that  such  idols  were  accursed,  and  he  would 
not  touch  it.     "But  you  shall,"  replied  one  of  the. 


CHARACTER  IN  HIS  YOUTH.  27 

officers,  roughly  thrusting  it  in  his  face,  and  placing 
it  between  his  hands.  Upon  this  lie  took  hold  of  the 
image,  and  watching  his  opportunity,  threw  it  into 
the  river,  saying,  Let  our  Lady  save  herself:  she  is 
lychle  enoughe,  let  her  learne  to  swyme."*  The  other 
anecdote  narrates  the  manner  in  which  Melville 
procured  admission,  in  a  time  of  civil  war,  into  the 
city  of  Orleans.  To  the  question,  "Whence  are 
you?"  Melville  replied, "from  Scotland."  "0!you 
Scots  are  all  Hugonots."  "Hugonots  !  what's  that? 
we  do  not  know  such  people  in  Scotland."  "You  have 
no  mass,"  said  the  soldier,  "  Vous  vous  n'  avez  pas  la 
Messe."  "No  mess,  man,"  replied  Melville, merrily, 
"  our  children  in  Scotland  go  to  mess  every  day." 
"Bon  compagnon  allez  vous,'- said  the  soIdier,smiling, 
and  beckoning  him  to  proceed. f  Let  your  readers 
suppose  that  the  historian  becomes  the  hero  in  these 
anecdotes,  and  they  will  have  a  more  exact  idea  of 
your  father's  character  than  any  description  which  it 
is  in  my  power  to  give.  In  so  far  as  they  show  traits 
of  waggery  and  wit,  courage,  prudence,  and  presence 
of  mind,  we  may  write  under  the  picture,  Thomas 
M'Crie,  aged  21." 

To  these  recollections,  which  must  bring  the  subject 
of  our  memoirs  as  he  appeared  in  early  life,  much 
more  vividly  before  the  eye  than  any  general  sketch 
which  might  be  drawn  from  them,  I  have  little  to  add. 
From  all  I  can  learn  of  him  at  this  period  of  his  life, 
it  appears  that  while  his  good  taste  and  studious 
tendencies  preserved  him  from  all  extravagance  or 
frivolity,  he  was  full  of  youthful  vivacity,  a  ready 
wit,  a  prompt  arguer,  foremost  in  exercises  of  skill  or 
peril,  affable,  polite,  playful,  delighting  in  innocent  re- 
laxation, and  quite  ready  for  adventure,  competition, 
or  amusement,  when  a  sense  of  duty,  or  considerations 
of  propriety  interposed  no  bar  in  the  way  of  his  natu- 
ral inclinations.  The  opinions  entertained  by  so 
young  a  man  upon,  questions  of  importance,  would 

*  Life  of  Knox,  vol.  i.,  pp.  G8,  69. 
t  Life  of  Melville,  vol.  i.,  p.  55. 


28  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

be  hardly  worthy  of  record,  were  it  not  for  the  light 
which  they  throw  on  the  constitutional  turn  of  his 
mind.  In  polemical  discussions  with  his  fellow-stu- 
dents, he  is  said  to  have  generally  pleaded  on  what 
would  be  called  the  liberal  side  of  the  question.  If  a 
few  more  years'  reflection  induced  him  to  modify  his 
views  and  correct  his  judgment  on  certain  points,  the 
change  certainly  did  not  arise  from  any  predilection 
for  antiquated  opinions,  or  any  want  of  natural  dispo- 
sition to  swim  with  the  current  of  the  day.  Like 
other  sanguine  and  ingenuous  spirits,  he  took  a  warm 
interest  in  the  political  movements  of  the  French; 
and,  though  not  a  republican,  hailed  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Revolution  as  auspicious  to  the  general 
cause  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  In  one  of  the 
earliest  specimens  of  his  correspondence,  written  in 
1793,  and  addressed  to  one  of  his  uncles,  a  farmer 
in  Berwickshire,  who  was  a  stanch  supporter  of 
the  Tory  government  then  in  power,  I  find  him  ral- 
lying the  shrewd  old  yeoman  on  the  horror  he  had 
expressed  to  him  at  being  reckoned  a  Jacobin,  and 
palliating  where  he  could  not  excuse  the  early  ex- 
cesses of  the  French  Revolution.  "  But  why,"  says 
he,  "  have  the  faults  of  the  French  been  lashed  with 
so  severe  a  hand?  Under  the  form  of  government  of 
that  country  thousands  have  been  crushed  under  the 
iron  rod  of  despotism,  without  drawing  a  tear  from  the 
rest  of  Europe.  Is  it  because  they  profess  peaceful 
and  fraternal  principles?  I  answer,  that  the  cruelties 
of  the  Inquisition,  the  persecutions,  and  massacres 
for  the  sake  of  religion,  were  incomparably  more 
fierce  than  any  exercised  by  the  French;  yet  they 
were  never  represented  in  such  hideous  colours. 
And  is  cruelty  more  tolerable,  or  more  excusable, 
when  exercised  by  those  who  profess  the  religion  of 
the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus,  than  when  exercised  by 
those  who  profess  to  be  the  friends  of  liberty?  For 
my  part,  I  have  always  been  averse  to  join  in  calum- 
niating a  great  nation,  or  in  condemning  a  whole 
people,  struggling  under  such   difficulties,  for  a  few 


POLITICAL  SENTIMENTS.  29 

excesses.  A  candid  observer  will  find  many  pallia- 
tions for  these,  and  while  he  is  grieved  at  partial  evils, 
he  will  wonder  that  greater  have  not  happened.  He 
will  consider  that  when  the  passions  of  men  are 
raised  to  such  a  pitch  as  is  necessary  for  effecting  a 
revolution  from  despotism  to  liberty,  they  must  natu- 
rally vibrate  to  the  opposite  extreme,  and  that  some 
time  is  required  before  they  can  be  poised  so  as  to 
settle  upon  the  medium.  Add  to  this,  that  their  minds 
are  naturally  soured  by  the  remembrance  of  injuries 
which  they  received  from  their  former  masters.  In 
this  particular,  tyranny  carries  along  with  it  its  own 
punishment;  for  in  proportion  to  the  ignorance  in 
which  a  people  are  kept  under  despotism,  will  their 
fury  and  licentiousness  be  when  they  are  freed  from 
the  yoke,  and  they  will  retort  that  barbarity  upon  the 
heads  of  their  tyrants,  which  they  formerly  suffered 
from  their  hands."  In  this  extract  from  a  letter 
written,  as  he  hints,  merely  to  divert  himself  at  the 
expense  of  his  uncle's  aristocratic  partialities,  those 
who  are  familiar  with  the  literary  works  of  the 
writer,  will  probably  descry  the  spirit  which  was 
to  vindicate  the  better-principled  reformers  of  hts 
own  country,  in  such  indignant  remonstrances  as  the 
following:  "What!-  do  we  celebrate  with  public 
rejoicings  victories  over  the  enemies  of  our  country 
in  the  gaining  of  which  thousands  of  our  fellow- 
creatures  have  been  sacrificed?  And  shall  solemn 
masses  and  sad  dirges,  accompanied  with  direful 
execrations,  be  everlastingl}'  sung  for  the  mangled 
members  of  statues,  torn  pictures,  and  ruined 
towers?"* 

In  prosecuting  our  biography,  we  have  now  to 
mention  that,  on  leaving  Brechin,  he  resided 
during  the  summer  of  1794  in  the  family  of  his  ma- 
ternal uncle,  IVIr.  William  Hood  of  Woodhall,  near 
Dunbar;  and  in  the  following  winter  he  attended 
the  University  and  finished  the  curriculum  appointed 

*  Life  of  Knox,  vol.  i.,  p.  27G. 
3* 


30  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

for  students  of  theology  by  attending  the  Natural 
Philosophy  class.  It  was  not  uncommon  at  that 
time,  though  far  from  being  a  good  arrangement,  for 
Secession  students  to  defer  this  last  step  in  their 
philosophical  course  till  near  the  close  of  their  at- 
tendance at  the  divinity  hall.  In  his  case  this  last 
year  at  college  was  improved  to  the  best  advantage, 
and  every  acquisition  suitable  to  the  vocation  which 
he  contemplated  was  diligently  sought.  He  disdained 
not  the  aid  of  an  elocution  class,  and  the  popularity 
which  attended  his  early  exhibitions  in  the  pulpit 
may  perhaps  be  ascribed  in  som.e  degree  to  the  les- 
sons which  he  received  in  the  "artful  art."  A  more 
substantial  qualification  for  the  work  of  the  minis- 
try, he  continued  to  cultivate  in  the  homely  fellow- 
ship of  the  prayer-meeting.  Already  the  weight  of 
his  character  began  to  be  felt;  within  the  circum- 
scribed sphere  in  which  alone  he  was  yet  known,  ex- 
pectations of  his  future  eminence  were  formed,  and 
earnests  were  not  wanting  of  the  high  respect  with 
which  he  was  one  day  to  be  honoured. 

On  the  9th  September  1795,  he  was  licensed  to 
be  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel  by  the  Associate  Pres- 
bytery of  Kelso.  On  this  occasion  he  took  a  step 
which  he  soon  afterwards  saw  reason  to  regret.  The 
period  of  his  license  having  occurred,  while  certain 
changes  were  in  contemplation  by  the  Synod  affect- 
ing the  profession  of  the  body,  he  considered  himself 
warranted  to  object  against  taking  the  formula  with- 
out some  qualification.  Before  the  usual  questions, 
therefore,  were  proposed  to  him,  he  asked  and  ob- 
tained the  following  marking,  in  the  minutes  of  the 
Presbytery: — "  That  by  his  answers  to  these  ques- 
tions he  is  not  to  be  understood  as  giving  any  judg- 
ment upon  the  question  respecting  the  power  of  the 
civil  magistrate  in  religious  matters,  in  so  far  as  the 
same  is  in  dependence  before  the  General  Associate 
Synod,"*  With  respect  to  this  qualified  assent, — a 
point  which  has  been  often  misrepresented,  and  which 

"  Minutes  of  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  Kelso,  Sept.  Dili.  17'J5. 


SETTLEMENT  IN  EDINBURGH.  31 

is  even  yet  ill  understood  by  many, — it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  say  at  present,  that  we  shall  have  an  occasion 
to  recur  to  it  in  another  portion  of  our  memoir,  when 
a  connected  view  of  the  case  will  be  given,  and  the 
facts  which  bear  upon  it  will  be  fairly  and  fully 
brought  out. 

The  character  and  public  appearances  of  the  young 
preacher  attracted  immediate  notice,  and  in  little 
more  than  a  month  after  his  license,  a  unanimous  call 
invited  him  to  become  a  minister  of  the  second  Asso- 
ciate congregation  assembling  in  Potterrow,  Edin- 
burgh.* A  trivial  occurrence  which  took  place  at  this 
time,  deserves  to  be  recorded  as  an  instance  of  that 
delicacy  of  feeling  by  which,  he  was  always  distin- 
guished. Another  respectable  congregation  had  re- 
solved to  give  him  a  call,  and  one  of  its  members  took 
an  opportunity  of  communicating  to  him  their  pur- 
pose; but,  assured  that  for  them  there  was  no  pros- 
pect of  success,  he  at  once  told  them  so,  and  thus 
prevented  a  competition  before  the  Synod.  Though 
not  dead  to  the  feelings  of  ambition,  he  scorned  to 
purchase  the  triumph  of  a  little  additional  eclat,  at 
the  expense  of  a  cruel  disappointment  to  a  people 
who  were  prepared  to  honour  him  with  the  highest 
token  of  their  attachment  and  esteem.  I  may  per- 
haps be  chargeable  with  making  a  useless  and  too 
liberal  disclosure  of  his  private  sentiments,  when  I 
record  a  confession  which  he  made  to  an  intimate 
friend,  that,  long  before  there  was  any  prospect  of 
such  an  event,  he  had  a  strong  presentiment  that  he 
would  be  settled- as  a  minister  in  Edinburgh, 

In  addition  to  what  was  formerly  stated,  we  have 

*  This  congregation  was  formed  by  a  division  of  that  of  Mr.  Gib, 
and  the  circumstances  wliich  led  to  their  disjunction  are  alluded 
to  by  Dr.  M'Crie,  in  his  Evidence  on  Patronage  1834: — "1  was 
once  in  connexion  with  a  larger  Synod,  consisting  of  from  a  hun- 
dred to  a  hundred  and  fifty  congregations,  and  I  know  of  only 
one  instance  in  which,  in  consequence  of  their  being  thwarted 
in  repeated  applications  for  a  minister  settled  in  another  place,  a 
part  of  a  congregation  applied  for  and  obtained  a  disjunction,  by 
which  they  were  erected  into  a  separate  congregation  in  the  same 
religious  communion,  and  I  ultimately  became  their  pastor." 


32  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

now  to  ad(],  that  he  refused  to  submit  to  ordination 
unless  the  reservation  with  which  he  took  his  vows 
should  be  declared  as  publicly  as  the  vows  them- 
selves. It  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  grant  a  mark- 
ing in  the  minutes  of  Presbyteries,  but  the  public 
expression  of  reserve  was  new,  and  the  Presbytery  of 
Edinburgh  not  conceiving;  themselves  authorized  to 
introduce  the  practice,  referred  the  matter  to  the 
Synod  which  met  in  May  1796.  Another  preacher 
being  in  the  same  circumstances,  and  preferring  the 
same  request,  both  ordinations  were  delayed  in  ex- 
pectation of  the  deliverance  which  was  craved  from 
the  Supreme  Court.  The  Synod  not  only  granted 
what  was  sought  in  the  particular  cases,  but  passed 
a  general  declaration,  which  shall  be  given  in  its 
place  when  the  subject  is  resumed,  in  order  to  ex- 
plain the  part,  first  and  last,  which  Dr.  M'Crie  took 
in  the  affair. 

On  the  26th  of  May  1796,  he  was  set  apart  to 
the  office  of  the  holy  ministry  in  the  congregation  of 
Potterrow.  The  Rev.  Robert  Chalmers,  Hadding- 
ton, with  whom  he  was  afterwards  to  be  intimately 
associated  in  labours  and  in  suffering,  preached  and 
presided  on  that  occasion.*  And  on  the  following 
Sabbath,  the  young  minister  began  his  public  labours 
by  preaching  from  2  Cor.  vi.  1:  "We  then,  as  work- 
ers together  with  him,  beseech  you  also  that  ye  re- 
ceive not  the  grace  of  God  in  vain." 

The  settlement  of  the  subject  of  these  memoirs  in 
the  conspicuous  station  which  he  occupied  through 
life,  was,  it  is  now  manifest,  subservient  to  important 
purposes.  In  this  arrangement,  tlie  hand  of  a  high 
overruling  Providence  is  doubtless  to  be  chiefly  ac- 
knowledged; at  the  same  time,  the  working  of  the 
practice  of  popular  choice  in  the  determining  the  par- 
ticular scene  of  a  minister's  stated  duty,  is  not  to 

*  Tlie  Discourse  delivered  on  this  occasion,  with  the  ordination 
Addresses,  appeared  in  a  rare  and  Iii<rhly  prized  volume  of  Ser- 
mons published  by  Mr.  Chalmers  in  1798.  The  text  is  I  Tim.  iii.  1  : 
"  If  a  man  desire  the  office  of  a  bishop,  he  desireth  a  good  work." 


POPULAR  ELECTION.  bH 

be  overlooked.  It  was  the  free  unfettered  right  of 
election  which  provided  for  the  congregation  a  pastor 
at  once  adapted  to  themselves,  and  fitted  to  do  the 
work  and  meet  the  trials  of  his  particular  station,  and 
which  set  him  down  in  the  midst  of  advantages  and 
opportunities  which  were  so  largely  improved  for  the 
good  of  the  church  universal.  Humanly  speaking, 
the  world  and  the  cliurch  are  indebted,  for  all  that 
Dr.  M'Crie  has  accomplished  as  an  ecclesiastical  his- 
torian, to  the  much-decried  principle  of  popular  elec- 
tion. But  for  his  settlement  in  Edinburgh,  his  vo- 
lumes, in  all  likelihood,  had  never  existed.  Nor  is 
there  any  reason  to  fear  that,  were  this  Scriptural 
principle  adopted  in  the  establishment,  as  its  original 
constitution  demands,  it  would  prove  less  effectual  in 
securing  for  eminent  posts  the  services  of  qualified 
men,  than  the  opposite  system  which,  indeed,  has 
only  succeeded  in  this  object  in  so  far  as  patrons  have 
been  compelled  by  circumstances  to  accommodate  it 
to  the  spontaneous  and  united  voice  of  the  Christian 
people. 


CHAPTER  n. 

PROM  HIS  SETTLEMENT  IN  EDINBURGH  TO  THE  COM- 
MENCEMENT OP  niS  CONTROVERSY  WITH  THE  SY- 
NOD.     1796—1804. 

Shortly  after  his  settlement  in  Edinburgh,  Dr. 
IVI'Crie  was  united  in  marriage  with  Janet,  daughter 
of  Mr.  William  Dickson,  a  respectable  farmer  in  the 
parish  of  Swinton.  This  union,  which  was  the  result 
of  a  long  and  ardent  attachment,  contributed  greatly 
to  his  domestic  liappiness.  Mrs.  M'Crie  was  a  person 
of  singular  sweetness  of  disposition,  beloved  by  all 
who  knew  her,  and  she  discliarsred  the  duties  of  a 


34  LIPK  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

wife  and  mother  with  the  most  exemplary  prudence, 
affection  and  faithfulness. 

The  events  of  Dr.  M'Crie's  life  as  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel  at  this  period  would  not  have  been  liere  re- 
corded, were  it  not  from  a  conviction  that,  in  con- 
nexion with  the  place  which  he  was  destined  to  fill 
as  a  public  man,  they  are  neither  unimportant  nor 
uninteresting.  While  they  justified  the  expectation 
which  his  friends  who  knew  him  in  early  life  were 
led  to  form,  they  present  to  us  the  earnests  of  what 
he  was  afterwards  to  accomplish,  and  illustrate  the 
manner  in  which  he  was  trained  for  his  work. 

His  pulpit  exercises  at  this  period  were  always 
able,  prepared  with  conscientious  care,  and,  in  the 
early  part  of  his  ministry,  delivered  in  a  style  not 
only  animated  but  oratorial;  and  this,  aided  by  a 
somewhat  fashionable  air  and  attire,  conveyed,  at  first 
sight,  to  some  of  his  more  aged  brethren,  rather  an 
unfavourable  impression  of  his  character,  which  soon 
however  wore  off  on  longer  acquaintance.  There 
may  have  been  also  some  ground  for  the  remark, 
that  his  discourses,  though  masterly  expositions  of 
somp  of  the  leading  doctrines  of  Christianity,  were 
too  abstract  and  intellectual  for  ordinary  hearers.  A 
distant  mission  in  which  he  was  employed,  had  a  con- 
siderable influence  in  changing  his  views  and  tastes 
on  the  subject  of  preaching.  In  August  179S,  he 
was  sent,  with  his  friend  Mr.  James  Gray,  to  the 
Orkney  Islands,  where  he  presided  at  the  ordination 
of  Mr.  William  Broadfoot  at  Kirkwall.  These 
islands,  owing  to  various  causes,  had  been  left  deplo- 
rably destitute  of  religious  instruction,  few  of  the  in- 
habitants being  able  to  read,  and  the  great  mass  living 
in  ignorance  of  the  doctrines  of  salvation.  A  revi- 
val, however,  originating  in  a  prayer-meeting  held  by 
a  few  individuals  in  a  remote  corner  of  one  of  the 
islands,  had  led  to  an  application  for  supply  of  ser- 
mon from  the  General  Associate  Synod.  At  the 
period  of  Dr.  M'Crie's  visit,  the  excitement  was  very 
strong,  being  exhibited   in   the   arrested  attention 


MISSION  TO  ORKNEY.  35 

and  visible  impression  produced  in  the  crowds  which 
assembled,  Sabbath-day  and  week-day,  to  hear  the 
Gospel,  and  in  the  eagerness  with  which  they  sought 
the  instructions  and  counsels  of  the  ministers  in 
private.^- 

On  the  ardent  mind  of  Dr.  M'Crie,  the  scenes 
Tvhich  he  had  witnessed  in  Orkney  left  a  very  strong 
impression;  and  on  his  return  in  September,  he  de- 
livered a  discourse  to  his  own  flock,  on  "the  return 
of  the  seventy,"  in  which  he  gave  ihem  an  account 
of  the  mission,  and  contrasted  the  eagerness  with 
which  the  Gospel  was  listened  to,  and  the  striking- 
effects  which  it  produced,  in  these  long-neglected 
islands,  with  the  apathy  and  carelessness  too  often 
manifested  towards  it  in  more  favoured  parts  of  the 
land.  "  In  the  country  from  which  I  have  lately 
come,"  he  said,  "  thank  God,  it  is  otherwise.  There, 
you  will  see  persons  hearing  as  those  who  have  souls 
which  must  be  saved  or  lost.  There,  you  may  see 
the  most  lively  concern  depicted  on  every  face,  and 
hear  the  important  question  put  from  one  to  another, 
"  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  Here,  it  is  a  miracle 
to  see  one  in  tears  when  hearing  the  Gospel,  and  if 
at  any  time  we  witness  the  solitary  instance,  we  are 
tempted  to  think  the  person  weak  or  hypocritical. 
There,  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  hundreds  in 
tears,  not  from  the  relation  of  a  pathetic  story,  nor 
by  an  address  to  the  passions,  but  by  the  simple  de- 
claration of  a  few  plain  facts  respecting  sin  and  sal- 
vation. Here,  it  is  with  difficulty  that  we  can  fix 
your  attention  on  the  sublimest  truths  during  a  short 
discourse;  we  must  contrive  to  amuse  you  with  some 
striking  form  of  address,  we  must  keep  you  awake 

*  The  permanent  effects  of  the  Secession  Mission  to  Orkney,  in 
the  numerous  congregations  which  iiave  sprung  up,  and  in  its 
collateral  influence  on  the  Established  ministers,  all  candid  per- 
sons, acquainted  with  the  facts,  must  acknowledge  to  have  been 
beneficial.  In  respect  of  enjoying  the  Gospel  and  its  privileges, 
and  compared  to  what  they  were  at  the  close  of  tlie  last  century, 
the  eight-and-twcnty  islands  may  be  said  to  have  been  evaji- 
gelized. 


36  LIFE  OF  DR.  M^CRIE, 

by  mingling  amusement  with  instruction.  There,  m 
order  to  be  heard  with  the  most  eager  attention,  one 
has  only  to  open  his  mouth  and  speak  of  Christ; 
and  after  he  is  done,  they  will  follow  him  to  his  house, 
and  beseech  him  to  tell  them  more  about  Christ. 
Here,  it  is  only  certain  preachers  that  can  be  patiently 
heard;  there,  so  far  as  we  know,  there  has  not  been 
one  from  whom  they  have  not  received  the  word 
gladly,  nor  one  sermon  preached  which  has  not 
brought  tears  from  the  eyes  of  some."  The  impres- 
sion left  on  the  preacher's  own  mind  produced  a 
change  on  his  sermons  which  many  of  his  hearers 
did  not  fail  to  remark.  And  such,  I  am  assured, 
was  his  growing  acceptability  that,  before  his  name 
was  known  as  an  historian,  he  was  every  where 
received  as  one  of  the  most  respectable  preachers 
of  his  day. 

Into  the  more  private  duties  of  the  ministry, 
he  carried  that  spirit  of  faithfulness  and  diligence, 
which  might  be  presumed,  from  the  unction  with 
which  he  has  recorded  the  feelings  and  reflections  of 
the  Scottish  Reformer  on  this  subject.  In  a  letter 
to  a  brother,  dated  22d  March  1803,  accompanying 
a  copy  of  Baxter's  Reformed  Pastor,  he  writes, 
'•'  You  do  not  say  whether  it  is  the  abridgment  or 
the  original  copy  you  wish.  The  abridgment  is  in- 
deed purged  of  much  matter  which  is  deemed  extra- 
neous, and  wrought  up  to  a  finer  style.  But  for  my 
own  part,  (and  I  think  I  may  answer  for  yours  also,) 
I  prefer  the  original  with  all  its  digressions  and  al- 
lusions to  then  recent  facts,  and  the  natural  rough- 
spun  eloquence  of  the  author,  to  all  the  modish  dress 
which  an  abridger  can  give  it.  The  whole  book  is 
written  with  great  fervour  and  piety,  and  there  are 
some  places  where  you  are  carried  along  with  an 
irresistible  torrent.  It  had  an  effect  upon  me,  when 
I  read  it  some  time  ago,  somewhat  similar  to  what 
you  say  the  reading  of  Doddridge's  Life  had  upon 
you.  I  began  to  inquire  what  additional  labours  I 
was  called  to  use.    The  consequence  lias  been  a  little 


PRIVATE  DILIGENCE.  37 

more  attention  and  diligence  in  ordinary  labours, 
rather  than  the  attempting  of  any  thing  new.  But 
how  soon  are  we  apt  to  become  weary,  and  how  prone 
to  invent  or  admit  excuses!  Baxter  satisfactorily 
answers  the  objections  made  in  his  day  to  diligence 
in  the  duties  of  the  ministerial  office.  But  there  is 
one  which  I  may  call  the  Seceding  objection:  "We 
do  all  these  things  already.  We  catechise  our  con- 
gregation, and  we  perform  a  course  of  family  vi- 
sitation every  year.  What  lack  ice?''  Will  yoti 
be  so  good  as  suggest  some  few  thoughts  upon  this 
objection?" 

At  this  period,  indeed,  his  time  seems  to  have  been 
divided  between  the  labours  of  the  desk,  and  the 
duties  of  his  pastoral  charge.  Not  that  he  was,  by 
any  means,  a  recluse;  on  the  contrary,  none  perhaps 
more  fairly  practised  the  maxim  of  the  old  Roman, 
Duke  est  desipere  in  loco.  He  had  no  mental  hobby, 
no  amateur  engagements  which  either  engrossed  his 
mind  or  dissipated  his  attention.  His  relaxations 
were  such  as  produced  an  alterative  effect  on  his 
spirits,  and  gave  him  back  to  his  serious  employments 
with  renovated  vigour. — But  I  again  avail  myself  of 
the  recollections  of  the  friend  of  his  youth,  to  whose 
contributions  I  have  been  already  indebted. 

"  The  native  frankness  and  kindness  of  his  temper 
gave  a  constant  charm  to  his  conversation,  which  can 
never  be  forgotten  by  those  who  had  the  pleasure  of 
enjoying  it.  Could  we  present  the  traits  of  this 
temper  as  portrayed  in  the  substantial  acts  of  doing 
good,  and  sympalhizing  witli  his  friends  in  their  joys 
and  their  sorrows,  we  should  show  the  secret  of  that 
attachment  which  all  liis  acquaintance  bore  to  him. 
The  politeness  wliich  j)referred  others  to  himself,  the 
readiness  with  which  he  gave  his  counsel  and  co-ope- 
ration, and  the  liberal  liospitality  of  his  fire-side,  ac- 
quired for  him  that  popularity  which  expresses  the 
homage  of  the  heart.  At  the  time  of  the  Synod, 
others  made  up  their  dinner  ])arties  from  a  desire  to 
flatter  tnlents,  to  honour  a  friend,  to  acknowledge  a 
4 


38  LIFE  OF  DR.  M^CRIE. 

good  deed,  or  to  form  a  train  for  accomplishing  some 
particular  purpose.  Dr.  M'Crie  seemed  to  wait,  un- 
ostentatiously, to  show  his  kindness  to  the  persons 
whom  others  overlooked." 

Disinterestedness  was,  without  doubt,  from  first  to 
last,  a  prominent  feature  in  the  subject  of  our  me- 
moirs, and  entered  more  deeply  into  the  formation  of 
his  high  public  spirit,  than  a  mercenary  mind  would 
be  willing  to  admit.  In  the  early  years  of  his  minis- 
try, he  gave  a  rare  example  of  that  peculiar  delicacy 
of  feeling  which  he  never  failed  to  show  in  all  mat- 
ters of  personal  interest  and  emolument;  nor  is  it 
unworthy  of  being  recorded,  as  a  precedent  deserving 
of  attention  from  those  who  sometimes  forget,  that 
the  willingness  of  a  poor  but  attached  congregation 
to  make  sacrifices  for  the  sake  of  their  minister, 
affords  no  rule  for  his  expectations  or  demands. 
His  congregation  had  rapidly  increased,  but  being 
composed  chiefly  of  the  humbler  classes  of  society, 
his  income  had  not  been  raised  to  a  sum  adequate  to 
support  his  station  in  a  large  city,  and  meet  the  wants 
of  an  increasing  family.  In  1798,  when  the  price  of 
provisions  was  uncommonly  high,  his  people  proposed 
to  make  some  addition  to  his  stipend.  The  report  of 
this  coming  to  his  ears,  he  addressed  to  them  the  fol- 
lowing characteristic  letter: — 

"To  the  Elders  and  other  Members  of  the  Associate 
Congregation,  Potterrow. 

"Dear  Brethren, — As  I  understand  you  are  to 
have  before  you  a  proposal  for  augmenting  my  sti- 
pend, I  have  thought  it  proper  to  write  you  a  few 
lines  on  the  subject. 

"The  allowance  which  you  promised  me  when  I 
first  came  among  you  as  your  minister,  and  which  has 
been  always  punctually  paid,  though  not  so  liberal  as 
what  may  be  given  to  others  of  the  same  station  in 
this  place,  has  hitherto  been  sufficient.  From  any 
general  knowledge  I  have  of  the  state  of  your  funds,  it 


DISINTERESTED  CONDUCT.  39 

is  as  much  as  you  can  be  supposed  to  give,  especially 
considering  tlic  burdens  under  which  you  labour, 
't'he  expense  of  living  has  indeed  been  increasing  for 
some  time  past,  but  the.  incomes  of  trades-people 
have  not  increased  in  proportion;  and  as  the  most 
of  you  are  of  that  description,  I  don't  consider  myself 
entitled  to  make  any  increasing  demand  upon  you. 

My  desire  is,  therefore,  that  you  delay  making 
any  additional  allowance  for  me  at  this  time.  I  am 
persuaded  that,  when  Providence  places  it  in  your 
power,  you  will  not  be  backward  to  make  my  circum- 
stances easy;  and  having  this  confidence,  I  have 
more  satisfaction  than  any  sum  you  can  add  could 
give  me.  I  would  wish  to  rejoice  in  my  stipend  as 
one  of  the  fruits  of  my  preaching  among  you,  but  the 
consideration  of  this  being  a  burden  to  you  would 
deprive  me  of  thisjoy,and  even  hurt  me  in  the  exercise 
of  my  ministry.  Go  on,  my  brethren,  in  your  regu- 
lar attendance  on  the  ordinances  of  Christ;  abound 
yet  more  and  more  in  the  fruits  of  righteousness;  let 
me  have  joy  in  beholding  your  good  order  and  the 
steadfastness  of  your  faith  in  Christ; — and  every  other 
thing  shall,  in  due  time,  be  added  to  me. 

"  I  have  only  to  add,  that  I  send  this  letter,  not 
from  a  circumstance  of  delicacy,  but  from  a  sense  of 
duty,  and  that,  as  I  am  necessarily  absent  from  home 
at  the  time  of  your  meeting,  you  will  at  least  delay 
this  matter  till  another  opportunity.  In  doing  so, 
you  will  oblige  your  affectionate  pastor, 

"  Tho.  M'Crie." 

It  may  be  easily  imagined  that  this  letter,  which 
was  gratefully  inserted  in  the  minute-book  of  the 
congregation,  did  not  render  them  less  anxious  to 
exert  themselves  for  the  comfort  of  their  pastor.  In 
1800,  a  year  of  great  scarcity,  he  formally  proposed 
to  give  up  a  portion  of  his  promised  stipend;  an  offer 
which  we  need  not  say,  was  not  accepted.  It  is  but 
justice  to  add,  that  the  disinterested  minister  found, 
to  the  end  of  his  life,  a  generous  congregation;  and 


iO  LIFE  OP  DU  M'CRIE. 

that,  though  not  without  his  difficulties,  of  which,  for 
the  sake  of  the  cause  in  which  he  was  embarked,  he 
never  once  complained,  he  was  all  along  creditably 
and  honourably  provided  for. 

Fi'om  the  first  year  of  his  settlement  in  Edinburgh, 
his  mind  was  constantly  engaged  on  subjects  of  gene- 
ral interest  and  public  importance,  and  it  became 
apparent  that  his  lucubrations  would  sooner  or  later 
be  imbodied  in  some  work  of  permanent  utility.  His 
first  acknowledged  publication  was  a  Sermon,  whicla 
he  was  anxious  to  have  forgotten,  and  it  is  with  a 
visiting  of  reluctance  that  we  do  any  thing  to  save  it 
from  the  oblivion  to  which  he  would  have  devoted  it. 
It  is  entitled,  "The  Duty  of  Christian  Societies 
towards  each  other,  in  relation  to  the  measures  for  pro- 
pagating the  Gospel,  which  at  present  engage  the  atten- 
tion of  the  religious  world,  a  Sermon  preached  in  the 
meeting-house,  Potterrow,  on  occasion  of  a  collection 
for  promoting  a  mission  to  Kentucky,  1797."*    The 

*The  text  is  Luke  ix.,49,  50.  "  And  John  answered  and  said, 
Master,  we  saw  one  casting  out  devils  in  thy  name,  and  we  for- 
bade him,  because  he  followeth  not  with  us.  And  Jesus  said 
unto  him,  Forbid  him  not,  for  he  that  ia  not  against  us  is  for  us." 
On  comparing  the  Sermon  with  the  manuscript  of  his  lecture  on 
the  same  subject,  delivered  in  January  1833, 1  have  observed  the 
following  differences  in  his  interpretation  of  the  words.  In  the 
Sermon,  he  supposes  that  the  person  who  was  found  casting  out 
devils  was  a  disciple  of  John  the  Baptist — that  the  twelve  apos- 
tles and  seventy  disciples  formed  a  church  from  which  it  appears 
"  there  were  conscientious  dissenters," — that  "  the  cause  of  God 
was  managed  by  other  parties,  yea,  even  by  a  single  straggling 
individual,  and  that  this  individual  received  no  discouragement 
from  Christ."  In  the  Lecture,  he  pronounces  these  positions  un- 
tenable, and  maintains  tliat  the  person  referred  to  was  a  disciple, 
notof  John,  but  of  Jesus,  though  he  "followed  not"  with  the  apos- 
tles— that  "  what  misleads  us  in  this  interpretation  is,  that  we 
are  accustomed  to  use  the  phrase  a.  follower  of  Clirist  as  synony- 
mous with  a  believer  in  (Jhrist,  whereas  in  ihe  gospels  it  is  more 
frequently  used  for  pcrso7ial  attendance  on  Jesus  ;  and  that  many 
who  believed  on  Christ,  were  not  required  to  follow  him  in  the 
manner  referred  to  by  John,  by  leaving  their  homes  and  occupa- 
tions." He  adds,  "to  one  of  these,  at  least,  he  had  secretly  im- 
parted a  miraculous  power,  without  either  requiring  or  wishing 
him  to  become  one  of  his  constant  attendants;  on  the  contrary, 
it  was  his  will  that  this  individual  should  act  apart,  and  that  his 
separate  testimony  sliould  confirm  the  collective  testimony  of 
the  apostles." 


FIRST  PUBtlCATION.  41 

preface  informs  us  that  "  a  request  from  the  congre- 
gation to  which  the  following  Sermon  was  preached, 
produced  the  author's  first  idea  of  offering  to  the 
public  a  composition  intended  solely  for  the  occasion 
mentioned  in  the  title-page."  It  would  be  difficult 
for  the  ordinary  reader  to  discover  in  the  discourse 
any  thing  of  which  the  author  had  reason  to  feel 
ashamed;  it  is  well  written,  and  contains  some  strong 
passages  in  condemnation  of  the  loose  views  which 
prevailed  at  the  time  on  lay-preaching  and  church- 
communion.  The  object,  indeed,  of  the  Sermon, 
is  fully  as  much  to  guard  against  the  extreme 
of  latitudinarian  pliability  of  principle,  as  the  other 
extreme  of  "  a  narrow-minded  intolerant  zeal."  But 
it  was  not  long  before  the  author  became  satisfied 
that  he  had  not  only  misapprehended  his  text,  but 
in  the  ardour  of  youthful  zeal  had  ventured  on  state- 
ments liable  to  dangerous  construction,  and  lending 
some  countenance  to  that  very  latitudinarianism 
which  he  meant  to  avoid.  So  seriously  was  this  im- 
pressed on  his  mind,  so  tenderly  did  he  feel  on  every 
thing  affecting  the  honour  of  truth,  that  he  could  not 
rest  till  he  had  made  a  public  retractation  of  the  sen- 
timents to  which  we  have  referred,  in  a  sermon  which 
he  preached  at  the  opening  of  the  Synod  in  1801.  He 
never  afterwards  relished  any  allusion  to  this  pro- 
duction. Not  many  years  ago,  a  copy  of  it,  designed 
for  a  gentleman  who  wished  to  possess  it  as  Dr. 
M'Crie's  first  publication,  having  fallen  into  his  own 
hands,  he  actually  destroyed  it,  and  could  never  be 
brought  to  give  any  other  account  of  its  fate  than 
what  might  be  gathered  from  the  peculiar  smile  with 
which  he  met  any  inquiry  on  the  subject.  This  first 
and  in  his  eye  unfortunate  appearance  before  the 
public  taught  him  a  lesson,  which  he  steadily  prac- 
tised through  life,  and  strongly  inculcated  on  all  would- 
be  authors,  never  to  publish  a  discourse  simply  "at 
the  request  of  the  congregation."  Having  been  soli- 
cited in  1803,  by  another  congregation  to  publish  a 
Sermon  which  he  had  preached  to  them,  he  thus 
4* 


42  LIFE   OF  DR.   M^CIUE, 

writes  to  the  minister  who  had  conveyed  the  request: 
— "  Since  my  miscarriage  as  to  the  printed  sermon, 
any  desire  which  I  might  have  felt  to  appear  in  pub- 
lic, has  been  suppressed,  and  I  cannot  say  I  am  dis- 
posed to  revive  it.  That  the  sermon  referred  to  gave 
you  and  the  good  people  under  your  charge  any  mea- 
sure of  satisfaction,  affords  me  more  real  gratification 
than  ever  I  derived  from  any  praise  bestowed  upon 
the  former,  which,  considering  the  quarter  it  came 
from,  was  the  first  thing  that  excited  the  suspicion 
in  my  mind  which  led  to  my  own  great  dissatisfaction 
with  it.  Besides  what  you  mention,  I  am  aware  that 
the  opinion  which  is  formed  of  a  spoken  discourse 
depends  much  upon  the  feelings  both  of  speaker  and 
hearers  at  the  time,  feelings  which  cannot  be  easily 
communicated  to  the  public,  nor  called  up  by  them- 
selves at  a  future  period.  Be  so  good  as  excuse  me 
to  the  people  in  the  manner  you  think  best."* 

We  should  not  have  dwelt  so  long  upon  this  ser- 
mon, were  it  not  to  correct  a  misapprehension  partly 
founded  upon  it,  that  his  sentiments  in  early  life,  on 
the  points  to  which  it  referred,  ditfered  considerably 
from  those  which  he  afterwards  adopted.  Even 
granting  that  he  did  not  perceive  so  clearly,  at  that 
period,  the  danger  of  loose  views  as  to  ecclesiastical 
fellowship,  the  mistake  of  having  lent  any  counte- 
nance to  these  was  so  speedily  discovered,  and  so 
publicly  disclaimed,  that  it  cannot  reasonably  or 
honourably  be  quoted  to  his  prejudice.  But,  in  fact, 
there  is  evidence  to  show  that,  even  before  the  publi- 
cation of  the  sermon,  his  views  on  the  subject  of 
strict  profession  and  pure  fellowship,  leaned  in  an 
opposite  direction,  and  were  exactly  such  as  might 
have  been  expected  from  one  who  was  through  life 

*  It  is  curious  to  observe  the  same  caution  operating  on  his  mind 
in  1829,  when  he  thus  writes  to  one  of  liis  brethren,  on  being  so- 
licited by  the  Synod  to  publish  his  Sermon  preached  before  them  : 
"It  has  always  been  impressed  upon  my  mind  that  an  audience, 
whether  learned  or  otherwise,  are  not  generally  the  best  judges 
!is  to  the  propriety  of  publishing  to  the  world  a  discourse  delivered 
before  them." 


STRICTNESS  OF  PRINCIPLE.  43 

the  enlightened  and  consistent  advocate  of  reforma- 
tion principles.  Before  the  first  sacrament  of  his 
ministry,  when  he  had  to  reckon  the  number  of  his 
accessions  by  scores,  the  sentiment  which  he  is  dis- 
tinctly remembered  to  have  uttered  was,  "In  com- 
parison of  having  the  truth,  I  will  not  think  of  the 
numbers  who  may  aid  me  in  maintaining  it."  His 
first  paper  in  "The  Christian  Magazine,"  which 
appeared  in  the  first  number  of  that  periodical, 
February  1797,  and  which  may  be  considered  his 
first  published  piece,  had  for  its  subject  the  value  of 
principle.  It  is  "On  the  Importance  of  right  Prin- 
ciples in  Religion,  and  the  Danger  of  those  which  are 
false."  The  following  extract  will  show  its  purport. 
"  Truth,  eternal  truth,  is  the  firm  and  immovable 
basis  of  the  Church.  She  is  built  upon  that  system 
of  doctrine  which  is  laid  down  in  the  Scriptures  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  upon  the  foundation 
of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself 
being  the  chief  corner-stone.  Upon  this  rock  the 
Church  is  founded;  and  hell  and  earth,  though  their 
united  efibrts  have,  since  her  erection,  been  di- 
rected against  her,  have  not  been  able  to  detach  a 
single  stone  from  her  superstructure.  Of  late  the 
method  of  attack  seems  to  have  been  materially 
changed.  Despairing  of  success  from  open  assault, 
the  enemies  of  Christianity  have  endeavoured  to 
undermine  it,  by  recommending  an  indifierence  to 
all  truth.  This  doctrine  has  been  eagerly  embraced, 
and  warmly  recommended.  Religion  is  represented 
as  a  matter  of  feeling,  and  morality  as  an  instinctive 
and  natural  principle.  The  friends  of  revealed  truth 
are  ridiculed  as  sticklers  for  opinion,  and  as  persons 
who,  overlooking  the  substance,  contend  about  the 
form.  Many  now  ask,  with  Pilate,  ironically.  What 
is  truth?  and  wait  not  for  a  reply,  reckoning  it  a 
mere  illusion,  a  phantom,  which  is  here,  there,  and 
no  where.  "If  a  man,"  say  they,  "have  a  sound 
heart  and  a  good  practice,  it  matters  not  of  what 
creed  he  be."     On  this  fashionable  modern  opinion, 


44  LIFE  or  DR.  m'crie. 

(for  it  too  is  an  opinion,)  I  beg  leave  to  supjgest  tho 
following  observations."  Tbc  substance  of  these 
observations  is,  "that  the  opinion  of  those  who  plead 
for  indifference  about  truth  and  religious  principles, 
is  founded  upon  a  mistaken  view  of  the  nature  and 
duty  of  man,  of  the  importance  and  influence  of  these 
upon  the  heart  and  life,  and  especially  upon  igno- 
rance and  misapprehension  of  the  doctrines  of  reve- 
lation, and  their  connexion  with  the  interests  of 
morality  and  mankind." 

In  the  same  periodical,  for  November  and  Decem- 
ber 1798,  there  are  two  "  Letters  on  Bigotry,"  writ- 
ten by  him,  and  signed  Pidegon,  breathing  the  same 
spirit.  In  these  articles,  while  he  condemns  bigotry 
justly  so  called,  his  main  design  is  to  point  out  the 
abuse  which  has  been  made  of  the  term  when  applied 
to  those  vvho  zealously  contend  for  the  truth,  and  act 
on  tlie  principle  of  strict  communion.  Bigotry  he 
defines  to  be  blind  zeal;"  a  bigot  is  one  who  is 
"  irrationally  zealous."  "But  is  all  zeal  for  divine 
truth  blind  or  irrational?  Is  it  not  o;ood  to  be 
zealously  affected  always  in  a  good  thing?"  The 
advocates  of  lax  communion  make  much  use  of  the 
distinction  between  what  they  call  essentials  and 
circumslantinls.  "This  hackneyed  distinction,"  says 
he,  "under  the  semblance  of  liberality  of  sentiment, 
hath  done  more  injury  among  serious  Christians  than 
any  one  I  am  acquainted  with.  It  proceeds  from, 
and  it  tends  greatly  to  increase,  a  selfish  spirit  in  the 
matters  of  God.  What  is  its  true  import?  It  is 
simply  this:  "You  must  be  careful  to  believe,  and 
zealously  adhere  to  as  much  of  divine  truth  as  is 
necessary  to  secure  heaven  for  yourselves;  but  as 
to  other  things,  it  is  of  little  moment  whether  you 
believe  them  or  not."  But  is  not  the  glory  of  God 
our  highest  end?  Are  we  not  bound  to  seek  our 
own  happiness  in  subserviency  to  this?" 

At  a  period  very  near  the  time  of  the  publication 
of  the  sermon,  he  published,  in  concert  with  his 
friend,  Mr.  Whytock  of  Dalkeith,  a  first  and  second 


PAMPHLETS  ON  FAITH.  45 

"  Dialogue  between  John,  a  Baptist,  and  Ebenezer, 
a  Seceder."  .  The  subject  was  Faith,  and  the  pam- 
phlets were  designed  to  obviate  what  he  conceived  to 
be  some  mistaken  statements  on  the  point,  made  in 
a  work  of  Mr.  John  M'Lean,  Baptist  minister  in 
Edinburgh.  They  display  no  small  portion  of  that 
versatility  of  talent  which  could  adapt  itself  to  the 
difficult  style  of  dialogue,  and  gave  promise  of  what 
he  might  have  accomplished  as  a  writer  on  pole- 
mical theology. 

But  the  event  of  his  life  which  more  than  any  other 
gave  a  direction  to  all  his  literary  labours,  was  the 
public  controversy  in  the  religious  body  with  which 
he  was  first  associated  in  profession.  In  many  of  its 
accompaniments,  it  was  in  a  high  degree  painful;  at 
the  same  time,  both  from  the  influence  which  it 
communicated  to  his  own  mind,  and  the  public  ap- 
pearances which  it  called  him  to  make,  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  the  turning  dispensation  of  his  lot. 

This  portion  of  his  history  renders  it  necessary  to 
enter  a  little  into  the  general  subject,  a  necessity 
which  we  the  less  regret  when  we  consider  the  inte- 
resting and  extensive  bearings  of  the  leading  question 
which  it  involves.  At  the  time,  indeed,  when  Dr. 
M'Crie  and  his  brethren  had  to  fight  their  battle,  the 
majority  of  Seceders  soothed  their  minds  with  the 
persuasion  that  the  matter  was  of  small  importance; 
and  with  hardly  a  single  exception,  the  members  of 
the  Established  Church  looked  on  with  indifierent 
security.  Recent  events,  however,  have  undeceived 
both;  on  every  hand  now,  the  duty  of  the  State  with 
respect  to  religion,  is  become  the  engrossing  and 
reigning  question  of  the  day;  and  it  will  be  found 
that,  without  direct  reference  to  the  subordinate  ques- 
tion of  pecuniary  support,  the  grand  principle  of  the 
Reformation  on  this  subject,  in  its  higher  and  more 
comprehensive  aspect,  formed  the  sum  and  substance 
of  all  the  contend ings  in  which  Dr.  M'Crie  and  those 
with  whom  he  acted,  were  at  this  period  involved. 

In    entering    on    these    details,  the    writer    can 


46  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

truly  declare,  that  it  gives  him  no  pleasure  to  rake 
up  the  ashes  of  this  unhappy  controversy.  The 
leading  facts  only  will  be  given,  and  these  with  as 
much  brevity  as  is  compatible  with  the  honour  of 
truth,  and  the  elucidation  of  the  line  of  conduct  pur- 
sued by  the  subject  of  these  memoirs. 

The  Secession  from  the  Church  of  Scotland,  which 
took  place  in  1733,  differed  from  almost  every  other 
instance  of  ecclesiastical  separation  on  record.  In- 
stead of  proceeding,  as  these  have  generally  done, 
from  dissatisfaction  with  the  doctrine,  worship,  or 
constitution  of  the  Established  Church,  the  cause  of 
the  Secession  was  precisely  the  reverse.  The  first 
Seceders  were  so  heartily  attached  to  the  standards 
and  constitutional  principles  of  the  mother-church, 
that  they  left  her  communion  expressly  on  the  ground 
that  she  had,  in  their  judgment,  deserted  them.  It 
would  prevent  much  confusion  of  ideas  on  this  point, 
to  distinguish  between  the  occasion  and  the  object  of 
the  Secession — two  things  which,  in  fact,  differed 
very  considerably.  The  immediate  occasion  of  the 
separation  was  doubtless  the  tyranny  and  mal-admi- 
nistration  of  a  prevailing  party  in  the  judicatories  of 
the  Church,  who  sheltered  erroneous  teachers  from 
censure, — enforced,  with  unnecessary  rigour,  the  ob- 
noxious law  of  patronage,  by  intruding  presentees  on 
reclaiming  congregations, — and  restrained  the  due 
exercise  of  ministerial  liberty  in  testifying  against 
these  abuses  in  the  pulpit.  Four  ministers,  who  took 
an  active  part  in  protesting  against  these  abuses,  were 
censured  and  loosed  from  their  charges  by  the  Com- 
mission; and  finding  themselves  thus  thrust  out  from 
the  Church,  they  formally  declared  Secession  from 
the  prevailing  party  in  her  judicatories.  But  neither 
the  pressure  of  patronage,  nor  the  toleration  of  erro- 
neous doctrine,  nor  the  restraint  of  ministerial  free- 
dom, of  which  they  complained,  as  injurious  both  to 
truth  and  to  godliness,  would  have  induced  the  Se- 
ceders to  take  this  step,  had  not  the  judicatories  of 
the  Establishment  been  regarded  by  them  as  "carry- 


THE  OniGINAL  SECESSION.  47 

ing  on  a  course  of  defection  from  our  reformed  and 
covenanted  jarinciples," — against  which  they  had,  for 
a  series  of  years,  been  testifying  within  the  pale  of 
the  EstabHshment.*  This  they  plainly  declared,  from 
the  very  first,  to  be  the  ground  on  wliich  they  "stated 
their  secession."  So  that,  while  the  occasion  of  their 
being  driven  into  the  position  of  Seceders,  was  the 
conduct  of  the  judicatories  on  the  points  already  re- 
ferred to,  the  real  object  of  the  Secession,  as  a  formed 
and  separate  profession,  was  to  assert  and  defend  the 
principles  of  the  Reformation.  The  original  Seceders 
identified  themselves  with  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
as  she  existed  in  her  purer  days,  particularly  during 
the  period  of  the  Second  Reformation,  between  1638 
and  1650.  On  this  era,  distinguished  as  that  of  the  So- 
lemn League  and  Covenant,  they  took  up  their  ground 
and  planted  the  banner  of  their  testimony.  They 
not  only  espoused  the  principles  of  the  Covenanters 
during  that  period,  and  of  the  great  body  of  them 
during  the  bloody  persecution  which  followed,  but 
vvere  themselves  Covenanters,  being  the  only  religious 
body  in  the  country  who  renewed  the  National  Cove- 
nants, in  a  bond  suited  to  their  circumstances,  and 
thus  practically  recognised  their  obligation  as  national 
deeds  on  posterity.  In  short,  "they  appeared  as  a 
part  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  adhering  to  her  re- 
formed constitution,  testifying  against  the  injuries 
which  it  had  received,  seeking  the  redress  of  these, 
and  pleading  for  the  revival  of  a  reformation  attained 
according  to  the  Word  of  God  in  a  former  period, 
approved  by  every  authority  in  the  land,  and  ratified 
by  solemn  vows  to  the  Most  High."f 

*  "  It  is  plain,"  says  Mr.  Wilson  in  his  Defence  of  the  Secession, 
"  that  it  was  hot  violent  intrusions,  it  was  not  the  act  1732,  nei- 
ther was  it  any  other  particular  step  of  defection,  considered  ab- 
stractly and  by  themselves,  upon  which  tlie  yecession  was  stated  ^ 
but  a  complex  course  of  defection,  both  in  doctrine,  government, 
and  discipline,  carried  on  with  a  high  hand  by  the  present  judi- 
catories of  this  Cliurch,  justifying  themselves  in  their  procedure, 
and  refusing  to  be  reclaimed.'' — P.  40. 

i  Appendix  to  Sermons  on  Unity,  by  Dr.  M'Crie.  Edinburgh, 
Blackwood,  1821. 


48  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

From  this  account  it  will  be  seen  that  the  charac- 
teristic feature  of  the  profession  made  by  Seceders, — 
that,  indeed,  which  distinguished  it  from  the  pro- 
fession of  the  Relief,  and  similar  bodies,  sepa- 
rating from  the  mother-church — was  its  nationality. 
To  say  that  they  were  friendly  to  the  principle  of 
national  religion,  is  to  say  nothing;  this  was  in  fact 
the  discriminating  principle  of  their  association. 
The  whole  scheme  of  reformation  for  which  they 
contended,  was,  in  its  form,  national.  The  moment 
this  principle  was  abandoned,  the  main  design  of  the 
Secession,  as  an  ecclesiastical  movement,  was  lost 
sight  of;  when  the  opposite  principle  was  embraced, 
that  design  was  reversed. 

In  1747,  the  Secession  was  unhappily  divided,  by 
a  controversy  about  burgess  oaths,  into  two  parties, 
generally  known  by  the  name  of  Burgher  and  Anti- 
burgher;  both  parties,  however,  still  professing  to 
adhere  to  the  Judicial  Act  and  Testimony.  But, 
about  the  close  of  the  last  century,  symptoms  began 
to  appear  on  both  sides,  of  a  disposition  to  qualify 
their  adherence  to  the  standards  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland  on  the  points  of  the  magistrate's  power 
circa  sacra,  and  national  covenanting.  In  the  Anti- 
burgher  Synod,  to  which  Dr.  M'Crie  belonged,  a 
variety  of  circumstances  combined  to  produce  this 
change.  The  estrangement  from  the  Church  of  their 
fathers,  naturally  engendered,  in  too  many  cases,  by 
long-continued  separation,  was  followed  by  alienation 
from  the  principles  of  her  constitution.  A  laudable 
attachment  to  the  invaluable  doctrines  which  involve 
the  spirituality  of  the  Cliurch,  and  the  supremacy  of 
the  Church's  only  Head  and  Lord,  wrought  in  some 
minds  unfounded  jealousies  with  respect  to  the  law- 
ful exercise  of  civil  authority  in  its  own  proper 
sphere.  Nor  can  it  be  denied,  that  the  events  and 
opinions  which  accompanied  the  political  agitations 
of  the  close  of  the  last  century,  and  the  beginning  of 
the  present,  had  their  own  effect  on  the  minds  of 
Seceders.     It  became  quite  a  common  occurrence  to 


OVERTURE   OF  NEW  TESTIMONr.  49 

modify  an  assent  to  the  Formula  by  a  vague  excep- 
tion, which,  by  its  very  vagueness,  neutralized  the 
whole  profession  in  its  bearings  on  the  question  of 
civil  establishments.  The  consequence  was,  that,  on 
this  subject,  the  Antiburghers  were  prepared  for  a 
change;  some  were  consciously  and  avowedly  alien- 
ated from  the  received  principles  of  the  body;  while 
the  greater  part,  though  rather  disposed  to  adhere  to 
their  profession,  did  not  consider  the  points  in  dis- 
pute of  sufficient  importance  to  warrant  them  in 
resisting  the  introduction  of  some  general  neutral- 
izing expedient,  especially  as  this  appeared  to  be  no 
more  than  what  was  accorded  in  every  instance  when 
individuals  requested  it. 

This  state  of  the  profession  on  the  subject  of  the 
magistrate's  power,  could  not  fail  to  be  felt  as  irk- 
some, and  various  measures  were  proposed  for  redress. 
It  was  an  overture  for  extending  the  Testimony,  that 
drew  on  the  issue  in  which  thesubjectof  our  memoirs 
was  interested.  This  portion  of  the  history  of  the 
Antiburgher  branch  of  the  Secession,  will  be  found 
to  record  a  warning  to  all  churches,  to  guard  against 
meddling  rashly  with  their  public  formularies.  Little 
did  the  movers  of  this  proposal  foresee  its  conse- 
fjuences,  either  as  affecting  the  public  cause,  or  their 
own  personal  history.  It  was  in  the  house  of  one 
who  found  himself  afterwards  in  the  heart  of  the 
conflict,  that  the  design  was  talked  over  a  short  time 
before  its  accomplishment;  and  all  the  four  brethren, 
who  subsequently  formed  the  opposition,  appeared 
to  hail  its  completion,  till  its  progress  revealed  its 
real  character  and  effects. 

The  proposal  came  before  the  Synod  as  an  over- 
ture from  the  Presbytery  of  Forfar.  Its  professed 
and  defined  object  was  an  enlargement  of  the  Testi- 
mony, so  as  to  bring  it  dovvn  to  present  times,  and 
apply  it  to  events  wjiich  had  occurred  since  its  enact- 
ment in  1736.  In  this  form  the  prayer  of  the  over- 
ture was  granted,  and  a  Committee  appointed  to 
prepare  a  draught  of  the  additions  which  it  might  be 

5 


50  LIFE  OF  DU  M'Cr.lE. 

proper  to  make.  The  Committee  had  scarcely  com- 
menced their  operations,  when  they  resolved  to 
exceed  their  powers,  and,  instead  of  preparing  an 
appendix  to  the  Testimony,  to  compose  a  new  work, 
which  was  designated  "  The  Narrative  and  Testi- 
mony." At  an  extraordinary  meeting  of  Synod  in 
1793,  the  draught  as  prepared  hy  the  Committee 
was  produced,  and  not  onl}'^  was  indemnity  granted 
for  going  beyond  their  commission,  but  the  fruit  of 
their  joint  labours,  in  the  form  of  an  overture,  was 
highly  applauded,  and  met  with  a  reception,  which, 
as  might  have  been  foreseen,  ensured  its  eventual 
adoption. 

The  precise  character  of  this  document  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  investigate,  its  authority  being  now  as 
little  acknowledged  by  those  who  so  keenly  sup- 
ported and  at  every  hazard  enacted  it,  as  by  those 
who  found  themselves  from  the  beginning  compelled 
to  reject  it.  The  changes  which  it  introduced  were 
numerous,  but  all  connected  with  the  leading  point 
of  civil  management  respecting  religion.  As  yet  the 
lawfulness  of  establishments  was  not  directly  denied; 
indeed,  a  protecting  note  was  inserted,  as  a  sort  of 
caveat  against  pledgino;  themselves  that  they  were 
absolutely  unlawful .  Even  this,  however,  amounted 
to  the  withdrawment  of  every  former  declaration, 
expressed  or  implied,  in  their  favour;  and  the  New 
'J"'estimony  was  the  obliteration  of  every  previous 
appearance  made  by  Seceders  in  behalf  of  any  civil 
arrangements  which  had  for  their  object  the  security 
ur  promotion  of  religion.  So  much  did  this  spirit 
pervade  the  formulary,  that  it  not  only  dii'ected  the 
statement  of  principle,  but  moulded  and  modified  the 
narrative  of  facts,  which  accompanied  it.  The  obli- 
gation of  the  Covenants,  so  far  as  they  were  national 
and  civil  in  their  object,  was  not  only  unacknow- 
ledged, but  by  necessary  consequence  denied  and 
impugned.  With  all  this  there  was  mixed  up  much 
that  was  sound  and  incontrovertible  truth,  and  much 
that,  however  incompatible  with  other  parts  of  the. 


THE  NEW  TESTIMONY.  51 

deed,  could  be  conveniently  quoted  to  silence,  if  not 
to  satisfy,  a  simple-minded  objector.  In  short,  the 
dilemma  of  renouncing  received  principles,  and  at 
the  same  time  saving  the  appearance  and  repelling 
the  imputation  of  doing  so, — doing  the  deed,  and  yet 
denying  it, — produced  of  necessity  a  medley  of  incon- 
sistencies which,  but  for  the  serious  importance  of 
the  case,  would  have  been  amusing,  and  to  a  Pascal 
would  have  afforded  rich  materials  for  a  new  series 
of  Provincial  Letters. 

It  is  now  placed  beyond  all  reasonable  disputing, 
that  the  New  Testimony  adopted  by  the  General 
Synod  in  1S04,  differed  tolo  calo  from  the  original 
Testimony,  in  every  point  peculiar  to  the  profession 
of  Seceders.  The  difference  did  not  lie  in  a  few 
unessential  points,  but  in  the  very  spirit  and  specific 
nature  and  design  of  the  two  documents.  The  Se- 
cession Testimony  was  neither  more  nor  less  than 
an  appearance  in  behalf  of  the  principles  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  as  exhibited  in  the  Westminster 
standards,  and  of  the  whole  work  of  reformation, 
civil  as  well  as  ecclesiastical,  with  an  adherence  to 
the  solemn  obligations  by  which  the  Church  and 
State,  in  their  respective  spheres,  are  bound  to  main- 
tain them.  This  character  is  emblazoned  on  its  front 
— it  is  verified  by  all  its  contents — and  the  time  will 
soon  come,  when  it  shall  hardly  be  credited  that  an 
opposite  sentiment  was  ever  entertained.  The  origi- 
nal deed  was  entitled,  "  Act,  declaration,  and  testi- 
mony for  the  doctrine,  worship,  discipline  and 
government  of  the  Church  of  Scotland;  agreeably  to 
the  Word  of  God,  the  Confession  of  Faith,  the 
National  Covenant  of  Scotland,  and  the  Solemn 
I^eague  and  Covenant  of  the  three  nations;  and 
against  several  steps  of  defection  from  the  same  both 
in  former  and  present  times."  One  needs  only  to 
re  ;d  this  title  to  discover,  that  it  was  not  a  declara- 
tion of  adherence  to  certain  truths  shnphj  on  the 
general  ground  of  their  being  agreeable  to  Scripture; 
but  a  testimony  for  the  profession  of  the  Church  of 


o'4  LIFE   OF  I>R.   M'CRIE. 

Scotland,  and  the  nalionnl  reformation.  A  large 
portion  of  the  Old  Testimony,  therefore,  was  occupied 
by  an  explicit  acknowledgment  of  the  civil  as  well  as 
ecclesiastical  steps  affecting  the  progress  of  the  Re- 
formation, and  the  national  bonds  by  which  it  was 
ratified.  In  the  Nevv  Testimony,  again,  under  the 
pretext  of  "resting  the  whole  of  their  ecclesiastical 
constitution  on  the  testimony  of  God  in  his  Word, 
the  primary  affinity  of  the  Secession  to  the  Church 
of  Scotland  is  wholly  evaded;  and  the  standards  of 
that  Church,  formerly  testified  for,  are  only  recog- 
nised, like  any  other  book,  so  far  as  they  agree  with 
the  standards  erected  by  the  General  Synod.  On 
the  duty  of  magistrates  to  support  and  promote  true 
religion,  so  distinctly  approved  in  the  original  Testi- 
mony, the  Synod  maintained  that  "  the  power  com- 
petent to  worldly  kingdoms  is  wholly  temporal, 
respecting  only  the  secular  interests  of  society,'.' — that 
the  magistrate  could  only  promote  religion  "in  his 
private  character,"  and  "  by  his  own  advice  and 
example."  And  with  regard  to  all  that  our  ancestors 
did  in  securing  the  reformation  of  civil  enactments, 
they  declare,  "we  do  not  vindicate  their  imbod)'ing 
the  matter  of  their  religious  profession  with  the  laws 
of  the  country,  and  giving  it  the  formal  sanction  of 
civil  authority."  Tliese  principles  might,  or  they 
might  not,  "rest  on  the  testimony  of  God  in  his 
word  ;"  but  to  deny  that  their  adoption  by  the  Synod 
inferred  a  radical  change  in  "  their  ecclesiastical  con- 
stitution," and  to  cover  their  retreat  from  the  ancient 
ground,  by  talking  lightly  of  the  standards  which 
they  forsook,  and  loudly  of  the  Scriptures  to  whicli 
they  professed  adherence, — would  be  an  attempt  to 
disguise  the  truth  of  history,  which  must  inevitably, 
in  the  end,  recoil  upon  the  heads  of  those  who  ven- 
ture on  it,  and  rouse  the  contempt,  if  not  the  indig- 
nation, of  all  honourable  minds. 

It  may  be  supposed  that,  in  the  early  stage  of  this 
controversy,  many  excellent  men  who  favoured  the 
contemplated   innovations  were  actuated  solely  by 


ATTEMPTS  AT  CONCEALING  THE  CHANGE.        53 

dread  of  every  thing  which  savoured  of  persecution 
for  conscience'  sake;  and  there  is  reason  to  think 
that  very  few,  if  an}^,  in  the  Synod,  were  aware  of 
the  practical  results  to  which  their  principles  would 
lead.*  The  worst  feature  in  the  whole  case,  and 
which  few  will  now  venture  to  palliate,  was  the 
attempt  put  forth  from  the  beginning,  anri  studiously 
kept  up  to  the  end,  to  persuade  the  people  connected 
with  the  Secession  that  no  change  was  made  on  their 
profession  by  the  new  deeds — that  they  were  still 
contending  for  all  the  principles  maintained  by  the 
first  Seceders!  It  is  possible,  that  during  the  heat 
of  the  contest,  many  may  have  flattered  themselves 
that  the  views  which  they  had  espoused  as  indivi- 
duals, had  always  been  those  entertained  by  their 
fathers.  But  the  consequence  of  this  policy  was, 
that  the  great  body  of  the  people,  many  of  whom 
were  still  friendly  to  the  original  principles  of  the 
Secession  as  stated  in  their  Testimony,  were  kept  in 
total  ignorance  of  the  change,  while  many  more  who 
would  have  been  startled  at  the  idea  of  moving  oflf 
"the  good  old  way  in  which  their  fathers  walked," 
yielded  a  quiet  acquiescence,  when  assured  by  those 
whom  they  were  accustomed  to  revere,  that  the  Sy- 
nod had  done  no  more  than  vindicated  themselves 
from  the  imputation  of  holding  persecuting  princi- 
ples. Recent  events  have  placed  the  true  character 
of  this  change  beyond  all  question;  and  the  great 
body  of  modern  Seceders,  moving,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, from  one  step  of  defection  to  another,  are 
now  ready  to  avow,  and  glory  in  the  avowal,  that  in 
following  out  the  principles  then  adopted  to  their  le- 

*'  It  is  worth  observing,  that  in  an  account  of  the  General 
Associate  Synod,  written  in  18U9,  three  years  after  Dr.  M'Crieiiad 
left  them,  and  transmitted  by  one  of  their  own  number,  (tlie  late 
Dr.  Jamieson,  I  believe,)  to  Mr.  Adams  for  insertion  in  his  work 
then  published,  it  is  said,  "  Tiiere  is  no  reason  to  believe,  that,  if 
the  corruptions  complained  of,  in  the  Church  of  Scotland,  were 
removed,  the  mere  legal  establislimcnt  would  be  viewed,  by  any 
of  the  memhers  of  Synod,  as  a  sufficient  bar  to  re-union."  — Adams' 
Religious  World  Displayed,  vol.  iii.,  p.  211. 
5- 


S4  LIFE   OF  DR.   m'CRIE. 

g,itimate  consequences,  they  have  landed  in  Volun- 
taryism, and  now  find  themselves  directly  at  anti- 
podes with  the  sentiments  of  the  fathers  of  the  Se- 
cession, and  with  that  Testimony  which  continued  to 
the  close  of  the  last  century  to  be  the  recognised  and 
unqualified  term  of  communion  in  the  body.* 

'rhere  were  several  ministers  who  either  scrupled 
to  approve,  or  positively  condemned  the  changes  to 
which  we  have  alluded;  but  the  number  who  openly 
appeared  against  them,  and  never  acquiesced  in  them, 
was  very  small.  It  would  not  become  a  Seceder, 
who  delights  in  tracing,  back  the  history  of  his  so- 
ciety to  "  the  first  four  brethren,"  to  think  the  less 
of  the  cause  wliich  they  espoused  on  account  of  the 
paucity  of  their  numbers.  When  we  rehearse  their 
iiames,  the  Rev.  Archibald  Bruce,  Minister  and  Pro- 
fessor of  Divinity  at  Whitburn;  Rev.  James  Aitken, 
Kirriemuir;  Rev.  George  Whytock,  Dalkeith;  Rev. 
Robert  Chalmers,  Haddington;  Rev.  James  Hogg, 

*  Since  writing  the  above,  a  "History  of  the  Secession,  by  the 
Rev.  John  M'Kerrow,  Bridore-of-Teith,"  has  appeared,  in  which 
the  author  attempts  to  vindicate  the  General  Synod  from  the 
charge  to  which  we  have  referred,  by  maintaining  that  tiie  sen- 
timents of  Seceders  on  the  points  in  dispute  liad  undergone  a 
change  from  a  very  early  period  in  the  history  of  the  community. 
It  will  not  be  expected  that  I  should  enter  into  an  examination 
of  that  work,  or  point  out  all  the  erroneous  statements  of  facts, 
with  which,  in  my  opinion,  it  abounds.  It  is  no  doubt  very  easy 
to  adduce  passages  from  the  writings  of  individuals,  and  docu- 
ments, which  appear,  especially  when  taken  apart  from  their  con- 
nexion, to  favour  the  new  doctrines  afterwards  imbodied  in  the 
profession  of  tjie  society.  But  it  would  be  paying  a  poor  com- 
pliment to  the  understanding  of  any  man  to  suppose  that  he  can 
perceive  no  material  difference  between  the  ancient  formularies 
of  the  Secession,  and  those  adopted  by  the  General  Synod  is 
1B04.  I  can  easily  understand  how,  with  the  seatiments  which 
this  author  entertains,  he  should  affect  to  speak  slightingly  of 
the  contendings  of  Dr.  M'Crie  and  his  brethren  in  opposing 
the  innovations,  though  even  this  seems  strange,  considering 
the  acknowledged  importance  of  the  principles  involved;  but  I 
confess,  I  was  totally  unprepared  to  meet  with  a  repetition  of  the 
denial,  so  confidently  put  forth  at  the  time,  that  any  change  was 
made  on  the  public  profession  of  Seceders  by  the  adoption  of  the 
Narrative  and  Testimony.  Without  saying  a  word  more,  I  think 
that  1  may  now  fairly  leave  the  question  to  be  decided  by  the 
public. 


PROFESSOR  BRUCE,  55 

Kelso;  and  Rev.  Thomas  M'Crie,  Edinburgh; — we 
exhibit  a  rare  combination  of  diversified  talent  and 
excellence;  and  without  claiming  any  decision  of  the 
controversy  apart  from  its  merits,  we  venture  to 
affirm,  what  few  candid  men  acquainted  with  them 
will  deny,  that  the  roll  of  the  Synod  did  not  contain 
the  names  of  six  ministers  more  competent,  in  point 
of  information,  judgment,  and  every  other  qualifica- 
tion, to  examine  and  decide  the  question  at  issue. 

Mr.  Bruce  was  the  man  who,  more  than  any  other, 
not  excepting  the  subject  of  our  memoir,  originated 
and  directed  the  struggle  which  was  now  made  for 
the  cause  of  the  Reformation;  and  it  is  an  undoubt- 
ed fact,  that  on  the  matter  in  dispute,  and  on  every 
collateral  question,  he  had  read  and  studied  more 
than  all  the  other  members  of  Synod.  This  learned 
and  venerable  divine  may  be  said  to  have  been  the 
first  to  perceive  the  dangerous  tendency  of  the 
changes  contemplated;  and  from  the  commence- 
ment, he  stood  forth,  though  for  some  time  alone,  to 
oppose  them.  For  no  man  on  earth  did  Dr.  M'Crie 
entertain  a  more  profound  veneration,  to  no  man's 
opinion  did  he  pay  a  greater  respect;  and  whether 
we  consider  the  influence  which  Professor  Bruce  had 
in  directing  his  studies,  and  forming  his  sentiments, 
or  the  close  intimacy  which  subsisted  between  them 
to  the  last,  it  seems  but  an  act  of  justice  due  to  the 
memory  of  that  excellent,  and  in  some  respects  ex- 
traordinary person,  to  introduce  a  brief  notice  of  him 
in  these  memoirs. 

Archibald  Bruce  was  born  at  Broomhill,  near  the 
village  of  Denny,  Stirlingshire,  in  the  year  1746,  of 
respectable  parents,  whose  circumstances  enabled 
them  to  give  him  a  liberal  education.  His  classical 
and  philosophical  studies  were  commenced  at  a  pri- 
vate academy,  and  finished  at  the  University  of  Glas- 
gow; after  which  he  attended  the  theological  lec- 
tures of  the  Rev.  William  MoncriefT  of  Alloa.  To 
a  steadiness  of  character  which  he  evinced  from  his 
youth,  Mr.  Bruce  added   an   inquisitive  disposition 


56  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'^CRI^. 

which  would  not  allow  him  to  take  his  religious 
principles  upon  trust.  At  this  period  of  his  life,  he 
began  to  entertain  serious  scruples  on  some  points  of 
the  profession  of  Seceders,  in  which  he  had  been 
brought  up,  and  entered  into  a  correspondence  with 
Mr.  Gillespie,  the  well-known  founder  of  the  Relief 
Association,  from  whom  he  received  very  flattering 
encouragement.  On  more  mature  deliberation,  how- 
ever, these  scruples  vanished,  and  in  August  1768, 
he  was  ordained  in  the  Associate  congregation  at 
Whitburn.  In  this  sequestered  situation,  Mr.  Bruce 
continued  till  his  death  in  1816,  quietly  discharging 
the  duties  of  the  pastoral  office  and  prosecuting  his 
literary  labours.  On  the  death  of  Mr.  Moncrieff  in 
1786,  Mr.  Bruce  was,  much  against  his  own  inclina- 
tion, appointed  his  successor  in  the  divinity  chair, 
by  the  General  Associate  Synod;  and  after  the  di- 
vision in  that  body  in  1806,  he  continued  afterwards 
to  teach  the  theological  class,  under  the  inspection  of 
the  Constitutional  Presbytery. 

The  following  character  of  the  Professor,  which 
was  drawn  up  by  Dr.  M'Crie  to  accompany  the  an- 
nouncement of  his  death  in  the  newspapers,  will 
show  the  high  place  which  he  occupied  in  the  esteem 
of  his  friend  and  pupil : — "  Professor  Bruce  possessed 
natural  talents  of  a  superior  order,  which  he  had  cul- 
tivated with  unwearied  industry.  To  an  imagination 
which  was  lively  and  fertile,  he  united  the  most 
sound  and  correct  judgment.  His  reading,  which 
was  various  and  extensive,  was  conducted  with  such 
method,  and  so  digested,  that  he  could  at  any  time 
command  the  use  of  it;  and  during  a  life  devoted  to 
study,  he  had  amassed  a  stock  of  knowledge,  on  all 
the  brandies  of  learning  connected  with  his  profes- 
sion, extremely  rare.  In  his  religious  principles  he 
was  decidedly  attached  to  the  standards  and  consti- 
tution of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  as  settled  in  her 
reforming  periods.  His  attachment  to  these,  and  to 
the  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  insepara- 
ble from  them,  was  evinced   by  the  part  he  took  in 


PROFESSOR  BRUCE.  57 

various  questions  which  engaged  the  public  attention, 
although  his  aversion  to  every  thing  which  had  the 
appearance  of  ostentation  induced  him  frequently  to 
withhold  his  name  from  his  publications.  He  was 
more  qualified  for  writing  than  public  speaking;  but 
though  his  utterance  was  slow,  and  he  had  no  claim 
to  the  attractions  of  delivery,  yet  his  discourses  from 
the  pulpit  always  commanded  the  attention  of  the 
judicious  and  serious,  by  the  profound  views  and 
striking  illustrations  of  Divine  truth  which  they 
contained,  and  by  the  vein  of  solid  piety  which  ran 
through  them.  His  piety, his  erudition, his  uncommon 
modesty  and  gentlemanly  manners,  gained  him  the 
esteem  of  all  his  acquaintance;  and  these  qualities 
added  to  the  warm  interest  which  he  took  in  their 
literary  and  spiritual  improvement,  made  him  revered 
and  beloved  by  his  students."* 

In  1780,  Mr.  Bruce  published  his  "Free  Thoughts 
on  the  Toleration  of  Popery,"  a  most  elaborate  per- 
formance, which  has  furnished,  in  the  variety  of  its 
information,  a  rich  store  of  materials  to  subsequent 
writers  on  that  question.  An  imperfect  list  of  his 
other  works,  which  are  almost  too  numerous  to  men- 
tion, is  subjoined  in  a  note.f  Of  the  general  charac- 
ter of  these  works,  it  may  suffice  to  say,  that  they 

*  Obituary  of  the  Scots  Magazine.  April  181 G. 

t  Besides  the  "  Free  Thoughts,"  Mr.  Bruce  published  an  excel- 
lent Sermon  entitled  "  True  Patriotism.'' — "  The  British  Jubilee." 
— "  Dissertation  on  the  Supremacy  of  the  Civil  Powers  in  matters 
of  religion." — "The  Life  of  Alexander  Morus,"  with  a  transla- 
tion of  his  Sermons. — "Review  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Gene- 
ral Associate  Synod." — "  Reflections  on  the  Freedom  of  Writing, 
and  the  danger  of  suppressing  it  by  penal  laws." — Memoirs  of 
the  Public  Life  of  Mr.  James  Hogg  of  Carnock." — "  Occasional 
Lectures  delivered  in  the  Tlieological  Academy  at  Whitburn." — 
"  Strictures  on  the  Mode  of  Swearing  by  kissing  the  Gospels." — 
"  View  of  the  Remarkable  Providences  of  the  Time." — "Brief 
Statement  of  the  Principles  of  Seceders  respecting  Civil  Go- 
vernment."— Various  Evangelical  and  Practical  Discourses." — 
"  Christianization  of  India." — "  Poems,"  &c.,  &c.  It  may  be 
mentioned  as  a  curious  illustration  of  the  zeal  with  which  Mr. 
Bruce  prosecuted  his  literary  labours,  that  he  brought  a  printer 
to  Whitburn,  and  employed  him  exclusively,  for  many  years,  in 
printing  his  own  publications. 


58  LIFE  OP  DR.  M'CRIE. 

are  all  distinguished  for  profound  and  accurate  think- 
ing, and  as  the  fruits  of  a  richly  cultivated  mind,  are 
invaluable  to  the  theological  student;  though,  partly 
from  the  nature  of  some  of  the  subjects,  and  partly 
from  the  copiousness,  amounting  sometimes  to  pro- 
lixity, of  the  illustrations,  they  have  not  attained  the 
popularity  which  they  deserve.  As  a  polemical 
writer,  none  has  succeeded  better  in  drawing  the  line 
of  distinction  between  liberty  and  licentiousness,  or 
balanced  with  a  nicer  hand  tlie  rights  of  God  and 
man.  A  genuine  Whig  of  the  old  school,  yet  with 
nothing  of  the  virulence  or  vulgarity  of  the  demo- 
crat, he  was  a  thorough  hater  of  all  despotism  and 
intolerance,  civil  or  religious.  He  was  a  bold  assertor 
of  the  right  of  private  judgment  and  the  liberty  of 
the  press,  at  a  time  when  both  were  so  much  abused 
as  to  expose  the  writer  who  advocated  them  to  no 
small  hazard.  At  the  very  time  when  he  was  en- 
gaged in  the  controversy  with  the  General  Synod,  in 
defence  of  the  lawful  exercise  of  civil  authority  in 
regard  to  the  externals  of  religion,  he  published  his 
"  Dissertation  on  the  Supremacy  of  the  Civil  Powers 
in  matters  of  religion,'"  the  object  of  which  is  to  con- 
demn that  supremacy,  and  vindicate  the  independ- 
ence and  spirituality  of  the  Church.  And  strange  as 
it  may  appear  to  modern  politicians,  it  was  by  the 
very  fervour  of  his  zeal  for  civil  and  religious  liber- 
ty, that  he  was  led  to  take  such  a  decided  part  in 
opposition  to  the  Roman  Catholic  claims — claims, 
which  have  since  then  been  advocated  and  conceded 
on  the  very  ground  upon  which  the  friends  of  free- 
dom and  reform  in  those  days,  with  more  foresight, 
resisted  them. 

In  his  personal  appearance,  Mr.  Bruce  was  remark- 
ably dignified  and  venerable.  With  a  spare  erect 
figure  of  the  middle  size,  and  a  noble  cast  of  coun- 
tenance, resembling  the  Roman,  dressed  with  scru- 
pulous neatness,  and  wearing  the  full-bottomed  wig, 
long  cane  and  large  shoe-buckles  of  the  olden  time, 
he  presented  to  the  last  the  polite  bearing  of  the 


MESSRS.  AITKEN  AND  WHYTOCK.  59 

gentleman  with  the  sedateness  of  the  scholar  and  the 
minister.  And  yet,  with  all  his  graveness  of  aspect 
and  demeanour,  he  had  an  uncommon  fund  of  wit, 
which  he  could  indulge  in  playful  humour  or  poig- 
nant satire,  and  which  rendered  his  company  pecu- 
liarly engaging. 

I  may  conclude  this  sketch  with  the  following  en- 
comium pronounced  by  Dr.  M'Crie  in  an  address  to 
the  students  after  the  Professor's  death  : — "For  so- 
lidity and  perspicacity  of  judgment,  joined  to  a  live- 
ly imagination, — for  profound  acquaintance  with  the 
system  of  theology,  and  with  all  the  branches  of 
knowledge  which  are  subsidiary  to  it,  and  which  are 
ornamental  as  well  as  useful  to  the  Christian  divine, — 
for  the  power  of  patient  investigation,  of  carefully 
discriminating  between  truth  and  error,  and  of  guard- 
ing against  extremes  on  the  right  hand  as  well  as  the 
left, — and  for  the  talent  of  recommending  truth  to 
the  youthful  mind  by  a  rich  and  flowing  style,— rnot 
to  mention  the  qualities  by  which  his  private  charac- 
ter was  adorned, — Mr.  Bruce  has  been  equalled  by 
few,  if  any,  of  those  who  have  occupied  the  chair  of 
divinity,  either  in  late  or  in  former  times." 

Next  to  Mr.  Bruce  in  point  of  age,  and  almost  as 
prominent  a  character  in  this  little  band,  stood  Mr. 
James  Aitken.  He  was  born  at  Forgandenny,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Perth,  on  the  4th  of  January  1757. 
With  a  strikingly  portly  aspect  and  commanding 
voice,  Mr,  Aitken  possessed  mental  qualifications 
which  rendered  him  one  of  the  most  edifying  and 
popular  preachers  of  his  own  or  any  other  denomi- 
nation. A  clear-headed,  conscientious  and  courageous 
Presbyterian  of  the  old  school,  he  was  distinguished 
for  his  knowledge  of  Reformation  principles,  and  for 
his  adherence  to  them  in  profession  and  administra- 
tion. His  favourite  study  was  history,  and  he  was 
intimately  acquainted  with  the  topics  involved  in 
the  present  controversy.  He  was  one  of  the  com- 
miltee  which  framed  the  draught  of  the  new  Tes- 
timony, and   manifested  that  he  had   no   prejudice 


60  LIFE  OF  DR.  M^CRIE. 

against  the  measure,  could  it  have  been  accomplished 
in  any  tolerable  form.* 

Mr.  George  Whytock  was  noted  for  his  cool  judg- 
ment and  power  of  discrimination.  "Though  capa- 
ble of  examining  a  subject  with  philosophical  accu- 
racy, there  was  no  appearance  of  abstraction  or  re- 
finement of  ideas  in  his  discourses  from  the  pulpit, 
but  throughout  a  plainness  and  simplicity,  level  to  a 
common  capacity.  His  prudence,  sagacity  and  cool 
dispassionate  temper,  qualified  him  for  being  emi- 
nently useful  as  a  member  of  ecclesiastical  judicato- 
ries."f  Nor  ought  it  to  be  omitted  here,  that  Mr. 
Whytock  was  proverbially  a  man  of  peace,  and  pos- 
sessed no  common  talents  for  composing  differences, 
both  private  and  public.  Such  was  the  confidence 
placed  by  his  brethren  on  this  part  of  his  character, 
that  some  have  hazarded  the  conjecture,  that  had  he 
been  spared  a  little  longer,  he  would  have  prevented 
the  breach.  The  ti'ain,  we  fear,  was  too  deeply  laid 
for  any  to  have  prevented  the  explosion;  but  he  was 
called  to  his  rest  before  his  brethren  took  their  final 
step.  Mr.  Whytock  is  the  author  of  an  able  work 
on  Presbytery,  and  he  no  doubt  discovered  the  rela- 
tion of  the  whole  Presbyterian  cause  to  the  question 
on  which  the  Synod  was  divided. 

Mr.  Robert  Chalmers  was  perhaps  one  of  the  best 
specimens  of  the  old  Seceder  minister  whom  our 
times  have  been  privileged  to  witness.  The  charac- 
teristic of  his  mind  was  plain  common  sense.    There 

*  A  volume  of  Mr.  Aitken's  Sermons,  with  a  Memoir  of  tiio 
author,  was  late!}'  published  by  his  son,  the  Rev.  John  Aitken, 
Aberdeen. — Edin.,  Whyte  &  Co.     1836. 

t  These  traits  are  taken  from  a  brief  notice  of  Mr.  Whytock's 
death,  inserted  by  Dr.  M'Crie  in  the  Christian  Magazine,  for 
December  lb05.  Tlie  testimony  borne  at  tiie  close  of  this  notice 
to  Mr.  Whytock's  sincere  attachment  and  steady  adherence  to 
the  Reformation  Principles  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  "  his 
appearance  in  behalf  of  these  principles,  in  the  way  of  opposing 
certain  changes  lately  made  in  the  public  profession  of  the  body 
he  was  connected  with,"  drew  forth  an  angry  reply  in  a  succeed- 
ing number  from  the  eccentric  Mr.  Robertson  of  Kilmarnock, 
wiiich  was  answered  by  Mr.  Bruce. —  Cliristian  Magazine,  vol, 
X.,  p.  7G. 


MESSRS.  CHALMERS  AND  HOGG.  61 

was  a  simplicity  and  directness  about  him,  which 
while  they  enabled  him  clearly  to  comprehend  every 
point  which  he  investigated,  qualified  him  for  placing 
it  before  others,  disencumbered  of  the  fallacies  thrown 
around  it  by  men  of  more  ingenious  and  adventu- 
rous, but  less  lucid  and  unsophisticated  understand- 
ings. Steady  to  the  principles  of  the  Reformation, 
his  chief  delight  lay  in  "preaching  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ."  As  a  preacher,  Mr.  Chalmers 
was,  in  his  day,  without  a  rival.  "  Simple,  grave, 
sincere,"  the  clearness  of  his  mind  shone  through 
the  terse  phraseology  of  his  discourses,  which  were 
marked  by  a  singular  degree  of  evangelical  unction, 
and  delivered  in  a  homely  but  captivating  style,  re- 
taining to  the  last  all  the  raciness  of  the  old  Scottish 
dialect,  without  its  vulgarity.  In  private  life,  his 
unaffected  piety,  patriarchal  plainness,  and  genuine 
kindness  of  heart,  endeared  him  to  old  and  young. 
Besides  the  volume  of  Sermons,  formerly  mentioned, 
Mr.  Chalmers  is  the  author  of  a  tract  on  Missionary 
Societies,  published  in  17f)8,  in  which  the  anomalous 
constitution  and  ill-digested  operations  of  some  of 
these  associations  are  ably  pointed  out;  and  in  1807, 
he  published  an  Address  to  his  congregation  on  the 
points  in  dispute  with  the  Synod,  which  is  distin- 
guished by  all  the  perspicacity,  naivete  and  vigour 
of  his  character.* 

Mr.  James  Hogg  was  a  classical  scholar,  an  accu- 
rate divine,  and  a  man  of  determined  resolution. 
Pious,  humble  and  inoffensive  in  his  walk,  he  was 
beloved  by  all  around  him.  And  it  does  not,  in  our 
estimation,  weaken  his  testimony  to  the  truth,  that 
in  the  warmth  of  his  spirit  and  honest  zeal  for  civil 
liberty,  he  at  one  time  appeared  to  cherish  different 
views  on  the  subject  of  controversy  from  those  which 
more  deliberate  examination  induced  him  to  adopt. 

*  Mr.  Chalmers  was  the  last  survivor  of  the  small  company  of 
worthies  whose  names  are  here  recorded.  He  died,  full  of  j'ears 
and  Christian  honours,  on  the  '29th  of  December  1837,  in  the  82d 
year  of  his  age  and  the  58th  of  his  ministry. 

(> 


62  LIFE  OF  DR,  M'CRIE. 

It  is  interesting  to  find  that  every  member  of  this 
little  band  was  marked  by  his  attachment  to  the  cause 
of  genuine  liberty;  still  more  so,  to  find  that  they 
were  "  men  of  God,"  each  of  them  distinguished  for 
genuine  piety. 

It  would  be  affectation  were  we  to  pretend  to  doubt 
that  Dr.  M'Crie  was  competent  to  investigate  the 
question;  but  leaving  this  to  be  settled  by  others,  it 
is  the  province  of  his  biographer  to  record  the  history 
of  his  mind  in  the  study  of  the  general  subject,  and 
of  his  conduct  as  directed  by  his  convictions;  a  his- 
tory, which  will  afford  one  of  the  best  illustrations 
of  his  character,  and  present  a  model  of  diligence,  in- 
tegrity and  disinterestedness,  well  worthy  to  be  fol- 
lowed in  the  investigation  and  management  of  any 
public  cause. 

The  reader  is  here  requested  to  recur  to  the  trans- 
actions to  which  we  alluded  in  the  account  of  his 
license  and  ordination.  It  will  be  recollected  that 
at  license  he  obtained  a  marking  in  the  minutes  of 
Presbytery,  to  the  effect  that  he  was  not  to  be  under- 
stood, by  his  answers  to  the  questions  in  the  formula, 
as  giving  any  judgment  upon  the  question  relating 
to  the  magistrate's  power,  then  in  dependence  be- 
fore the  Synod;  and  that  before  his  ordination,  the 
Synod  passed  an  Act  in  May  1796,  bearing  on  this 
point.  In  this  Act,  "  The  Synod  declare,  that  as 
the  Confession  of  Faith  was  at  first  received  by  the 
Church  of  Scotland  with  some  exception  as  to  the 
power  of  the  civil  magistrate  relative  to  spiritual 
matters,  so  the  Synod,  for  the  satisfaction  of  all  who 
desire  to  know  their  mind  on  this  subject,  extend  that 
exception  to  every  tiling  in  that  Confession  which, 
taken  by  itself,  seems  to  allow  the  punishment  of 
good  and  peaceable  subjects  on  account  of  their  reli- 
gious opinions  and  observances;  that  they  approve 
of  no  other  way  of  bringing  men  into  the  Church,  or 
retaining  them  in  it,  than  such  as  are  spiritual,  and 
were  used  by  the  apostles  and  other  ministers  of  the 
Word  in  the  first  ages  of  the  Christian  Church;  per- 


THE  ACT  OF  1796.  63 

suasion,  not  force;  the  power  of  the  Gospel,  not  the 
sword  of  the  civil  magistrate." 

The  principles  here  laid  down,  viewed  abstraclly, 
Dr.  JM'Crie  never  disputed  at  any  period  of  his  life. 
To  persecution  for  conscience'  sake,  in  its  every  form, 
he  was  uniformly  and  decidedly  opposed;  and  had 
this  Act  implied  noticing  more  than  an  explanation 
of  the  sense  in  which  the  Synod  understood  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Confession  of  Faith,  no  objection  could 
have  been  reasonably  found  with  it.  That  it  was  meant 
to  look  as  if  it  implied  no  more,  is  pretty  clear  from 
tbe  preamble,  by  which  it  is  somewhat  artfully  intro- 
duced,relating  to  the  "exception"made  by  theChurch 
of  Scotland,  which  was  in  fact  merely  a  declaration 
intended  to  guard  against  the  assumption  of  an  Eras- 
tian  power  on  the  part  of  the  State,  a  point  in  which 
the  language  of  the  Confession  was  not  considered 
sufficiently  explicit.  But  the  Act  of  the  Synod  was 
certainly  an  implied  condemnation  of  the  Confession, 
as  teaching  principles  of  intolerance,  and  neutralized 
the  former  profession  of  Seceders  in  favour  of  the  civil 
part  of  the  Reformation.  Indeed,  as  interpreted  by 
those  who  enacted  it,  this  Act  decided  the  whole  ques- 
tion as  to  the  magistrate's  power,  and  proved  the  fore- 
runner of  changes  on  the  profession  of  the  Synod, 
which,  from  the  vagueness  of  the  terms  employed, 
might  have  been  intended,  though  they  could  hardly 
have  been  anticipated. 

A  misrepresentation  of  the  state  of  Dr.  M'Crie's 
mind  at  this  period,  has  been  very  generally  circu- 
lated. It  has  been  said  that  he  was  originally  a  de- 
cided convert  to  the  new  principles,  and  prepared  to 
maintain  all  their  consequences.  The  fact  is,  that  as 
soon  as  he  began  to  discover  their  consequences,  he 
began  to  question  the  principles.  When  he  gave  a 
qualified  assent  to  the  formula  at  license  and  ordina- 
tion, his  own  judgment  on  the  questions  at  issue,  was 
quite  undecided.  As  he  stated  to  a  friend  who  con- 
versed with  him  on  the  matter,  it  was  not  on  "new 
light  grounds,  or,  at  least,  not  from  any  settled  opi- 


64  LIFE  OF  DR.   M'CRIE. 

nion  on  the  subject,"  that  he  sought  this  privilege; 
"  but  because  he  was  aware  that  the  new  opinions  had 
of  late  become  general  in  the  body,  and  he  thought  it 
wrong  that  they  should  continue  to  tie  down  young 
men  at  ordination  to  principles  which  they  themselves 
no  longer  held,"  His  request  was  avowedly  made  on 
the  ground,  that  the  question  respecting  the  power  of 
the  magistrate  in  religious  matters  was  "  in  depend- 
ance  before  the  General  Associate  Synocl;"and  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  a  letter  written  so  early  as  1798, 
without  any  view  of  making  out  a  case  for  himself, 
will  show  that  even  then  he  considered  the  question 
as  sub  judice,  and  even  entertained  hopes  that  the 
discussion  would  issue  in  a  judgment  favourable  to 
the  union  between  Church  and  State:  "The  Synod 
upon  the  whole  was  thinly  attended  this  Session. 
The  principal  thing  which  they  did  was  revising  the 
draught  of  an  acknowledgment  of  sins,  &c.,  and  or- 
dering it  to  be  printed.  There  was  also  a  good  deal 
of  conversation  about  the  old  topic,  and  I  think  it  was 
more  favourable  than  before  to  the  prospect  of  unity 
of  sentiment.  I  think  there  has  a  suspicion  risen  in 
the  minds  of  some  that  they  had  too  hastily  embraced 
a  favourite  and  interesting  new  opinion,  and  that  per- 
haps, after  all,  there  is,  in  the  nature  of  things,  a 
foundation  for  a  union  between  Church  and  State. 
Perhaps,  however,  I  am  too  sanguine."* 

1  have  searched  in  vain  through  his  correspondence 
and  manuscripts  for  any  traces  of  decidedly  new  light 
sentiment, — somewhat,  I  confess,  to  my  disappoint- 
ment, as  otherwise  the  argument  from  a  complete 
revolution  in  his  views,  wrought  by  time  and  con- 
viction, might,  in  my  opinion,  have  come  with  still 
better  effect.  It  is  undeniable,  however,  that  his 
leanings  were  originally  in  favour  of  the  new  doc- 
trines, and  that  the  result  of  all  his  previous  reading 
and  reflection,  which  was  tantamount  to  that  of  most 
young  men  at  his  age,  went  to  confirm  these  early  pre- 

*  To  the  Rev.  James  Gray,  1st  November,  1798. 


EARLY  SENTIMENTS  ON  THE  QUESTION.  65 

possessions.  And  granting  that  he  had  been  much 
more  decided  on  the  modern  side,  such  a  state  of 
mind  was  surely  not  without  its  advantages.  We 
need  not  recite  the  names  of  Saul  of  Tarsus,  Luther, 
Knox,  and  Henderson,  to  recall  to  the  reader's  mind 
a  long  list  of  the  most  useful  men  that  ever  lived, 
who,  in  similar  circumstances,  have  found  the  errone- 
ous convictions  of  early  life  overruled  for  establishing 
their  own  minds  in  the  truth,  and  qualifying  them 
for  more  effectively  maintaining  the  cause  which 
they  were  left  for  a  time  to  misapprehend. 

It  is  amusing,  and  not  a  little  instructive  to  be 
able  to  trace, iisqve  ab  oro,the  formation  of  his  opinions 
on  this  important  question,  and  to  discover  in  these 
elements  the  outline  of  the  more  digested  argument 
which  is  exhibited  in  his  public  defence  of  the  Re- 
formed principle  on  the  subject.  Almost  immediate- 
ly after  the  passing  of  the  Act  1796,  and  before  the 
close  of  the  year  in  which  he  was  ordained,  he  began 
to  question  the  position,  that  civil  administration 
ought  to  have  no  respect,  and  to  show  no  particular 
favour,  to  revealed  truth  and  divine  institutions, — 
for  this  was,  as  it  still  is,  the  sum  of  the  whole  con- 
test. There  is  reason  to  think  that  what  startled 
him,  and  set  him  to  a  more  careful  investigation  of 
the  question,  was  a  discovery  of  the  sweeping  ef- 
fect which  the  tenet  of  excluding  all  civil  manage- 
ment about  religion  would  produce,  in  condemning 
the  principles  and  transactions  of  the  Reformation, 
and  the  peculiar  profession  of  Seceders  in  reference 
to  them.  The  abstract  arguments  which,  to  a  great 
extent,  decided  his  opinion,  we  know  were  such 
as  the  following: — The  subjection  and  duty  of  na- 
tions, as  such,  to  the  Supreme  Being;  the  modified 
analogy  between  the  Old  and  New  Testaments; 
the  necessary  exclusion  by  the  opposite  doctrine 
of  all  interference  of  civil  authority  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Sabbath;  the  paramount  claims  of  di- 
vine truth,  once  revealed,  to  the  support  of  men,  in 
all  their  different  capacities;  and  the  necessity  of 
6" 


66  LIFE   OF  DR.  M'CKIE. 

a  combination  of  church  and  state,  in  their  respec- 
tive spheres,  in  promoting  the  common  object  of 
religion,  for  the  well-being  of  both,  and  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  most  glorious  predictions  of  Scripture. 

A  course  of  deliberate  study  not  only  confirmed  his 
judgment  on  the  general  question,  but  set  its  import- 
ance in  a  light  which  deeply  affected  him.  It  was 
the  remark  of  his  afl'ectionate  partner  in  life,  who 
felt  in  all  that  agitated  him  like  his  other  self,  that 
a  meeting  of  Synod  visibly  injured  his  health,  and 
this  was  his  own  experience  more  than  he  chose  to 
express.  He  watched  with  deep  anxiety  the  progress 
and  turns  of  the  discussion  in  the  Synod,  at  one  time 
glad  to  indulge  the  hope  that  a  breach  might  be  pre- 
vented and  the  profession  preserved,  and  at  another 
deterred  from  joining  those  who  openly  protested 
against  the  new  deeds,  not  so  much  from  the  dread 
of  the  imputation  of  inconsistency,  which  he  knew 
awaited  him,  as  from  the  diffidence  inspired  by  a 
remorseful  sense  of  his  past  conduct.  The  process 
by  which  he  reached  his  full  and  final  convictions 
was,  as  we  shall  see,  extremely  slow  and  gradual. 
His  was  one  of  those  minds  vvliich  require  time  to 
strike  their  roots,  develope  their  strength,  and  attain 
maturity.  The  first  step  of  this  process  was  a  con- 
viction that  the  Act  1796  was,  in  the  contemplated 
application  of  its  principles,  erroneous,  and  in  its 
consequences,  if  followed  out  in  the  spirit  of  those 
who  introduced  it,  dangerous  to  the  profession  of  the 
body.  This  was  accompanied  with  the  painful  reflec- 
tion that  the  scruples  which  he  had  expressed  in 
common  with  others,  had  been  the  occasion  of  this 
very  Act  being  passed,  and  that  he  had  acted  rashly, 
and  without  due  consideration  of  the  momentous 
truths  and  serious  difficulties  connected  with  the 
question.  But  awkward  and  mortifying  as  he  felt 
his  position  to  be,  the  same  love  of  integrity  which, 
under  other  views  and  feelings,  had  induced  him  to 
court  a  straight-forward  publicity,  determined  him  to 
be  equally  open  and  explicit  now;  and  he  stood  for- 


PROGRESS  OF  HIS  SENTIMENTS.  67 

ward  modestl)'-  yet  firmly  to  retract  what  he  had  done, 
and  so  far  as  lay  in  his  power  to  obviate  its  effects 
upon  others. 

The  first  decided  appearance  which  he  made  against 
the  new  deeds,  was  in  his  Synod  Sermon  (having 
been  Moderator  at  the  previous  meeting)  in  April 
1800.  This  discourse  is  not  to  be  found  among  his 
manuscripts;  but  the  text  was  Psalm  li.  IS, — "Do 
good  in  thy  good  pleasure  unto  Zion;"  and  in  the 
course  of  his  sermon  he  took  an  opportunity  not  only 
of  retracting  the  sentiments  which  he  had  expressed 
in  his  printed  discourse,*  but  of  declaring  his  regret 
at  having  been  in  any  degree  accessory  to  the  pass- 
ing of  the  Act  1796.  This  was  followed  up  by  his 
presenting  to  this  meeting  of  Synod  a  Representa- 
tion and  Petition,  craving  "  that  the  Synod  would 
review  this  their  act,"  (which  had  been  extended  in 
the  previous  year  so  as  to  include  the  Catechisms 
and  other  public  papers,)  " examine  the  passages  in 
the  Confession,  &c.,  which  are  supposed  to  be  objec- 
tionable, and  give  such  a  determination  as  shall  tend 
most  to  the  maintenance  of  truth  and  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  unity  of  the  body."  The  principal  reasons 
on  which  this  is  craved  are,  "that  the  act  condemns 
the  Confessionof  Faith  without  inquiry — and  that  it  is 
understood  to  involve  the  new  principle  proposed  in 
the  Overture  of  the  Testimony — a  principle  which 
would  go  a  great  way  to  condemn  the  manner  in  which 
the  Reformation  was  carried  on,  and  would  lead  us  to 
follow  a  divisive  course  from  the  reformed  and  cove- 
nanted Church  of  Scotland."  The  petitioner  thus 
alludes  to  the  peculiar  position  in  which  he  stood: — 
"  The  subscriber  of  this  petition  was  one  of  those  who 
entertained  scruples  upon  this  head,  which  were  re- 
ferred to  the  Synod  by  the  Presbytery  of  Edinburgh ; 
and  the  above  mentioned  act  so  far  satisfied  his  mind 
that  he  had  freedom  to  take  the  formula  as  altered. 
Since  that  time,  however,  he  has  had  opportunity  of 
considering  the  act  more  deliberately,  of  comparing 

"See  before,  p.  41. 


68  LIFE   OF  DR.   M'CRIE. 

it  with  the  Confession  of  Faith,  and  of  weighing  more 
carefully  the  influence  which  the  change  introduced 
is  calculated  to  have  upon  the  whole  of  our  prin- 
ciples: the  consequence  has  been, that  he  has  seen 
occasion  to  alter  the  sentiments  which  he  formerly 
entertained  respecting  it,  and  to  repent  the  steps 
which  he  took.  Some  may  think  that  in  considera- 
tion of  the  scruples  formerly  entertained  by  the  sub- 
scriber of  this,  and  the  occasion  given  by  him  to  the 
change  introduced,  he  ought  to  have  remained  silent. 
In  this  manner  he  himself  has  hitherto  thought  and 
acted,  and  willingly  would  he  still  have  continued  to 
do  so,  could  he  have  reconciled  such  conduct  with 
conscience  and  duty.  This,  however,  he  can  no  longer 
do,  especially  as  the  act  referred  to  is  closely  con- 
nected with  deeds  which  the  Synod  have  since  passed, 
and  may  yet  pass.  If  he  has  been  instrumental,  even 
in  an  indirect  way,  in  bringing  about  a  change  which 
he  looks  upon  as  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the  reli- 
gious body  with  whom  he  is  connected,  and  the  cause 
of  truth  among  them,  it  is  his  duty  to  endeavour  as  far 
as  in  his  power  to  repair  the  injury.  Besides  he  was 
previously,  and  still  is,  under  solemn  obligations,* 
which  it  is  his  duty  to  perform,  and  from  which  no  act 
of  his  own  or  others  can  release  him.  He  hopes  there- 
fore that  his  reverend  fathers  and  brethren  will 
candidly  interpret  his  conduct,  and  patiently  listen 
to  his  difliculties."-|- 

"  It  is  known  to  the  Synod,"  he  said,  in  presenting 
this  petition,"  that  I  was  one  of  those  who  refused  to 
signily  an  unlimited  approbation  of  this  part  of  the 
Confession  of  Faith,  and  that  the  act  of  which  I  now 
complain  was  passed  expressly  to  give  relief  to  me 
and  others  labouring  under  similar  difficulties,  and 
shortly  after  this  I  was  ordained  upon  assenting  to 
the  formula  as  limited  by  that  act.  It  is  against  this 
act  that  I  novv  complain,  after  a  period  of  only  four 
years.     I  shall  not  attempt  to  excuse  my  conduct  in 

*  He  refers  particularly  to  jiis  vows  as  a  Covenanter, 
i  This  petition  is  given  at  full  length  in  the  Appendi.x. 


PROGRESS  OF  HIS  SENTIMENTS.  69 

this  matter.  I  acknowledge,  I  confess,  I  am  sorry 
for  my  rashness  in  it.  Ever  since  I  was  convinced  of 
it,  I  have  made  no  scruple  about  expressing  my  regret, 
for  being  instrumental  in  unhinging  the  principles  of 
a  religious  body,  or  in  hastening  on  a  change.  It 
has  given  me  great  distress  that  1  have  been  acces- 
sory in  leading  others  to  imbibe  principles,  which  I 
now  look  upon  as  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  reli- 
gion, and  inconsistent  with  those  of  the  Secession, — 
accessory,  I  mean,  by  my  conduct  above  alluded  to; 
for  I  have  never  had  freedom  to  preach  against  what 
had  been  the  opinions  always  before  entertained  by 
the  body  I  was  connected  with,  and  what  I  evidently 
saw  ran  through  the  whole  of  our  peculiar  Testimony. 
It  would  have  been  easy  for  me  to  have  made  opposi- 
tion to  the  new  principle  in  some  other  shape,  as  it 
is  involved  in  the  act  for  a  new  acknowledgment  of 
sins,  or  more  fully  in  the  large  overture  now  lying 
before  the  Synod;  but  this  appeared  to  me  cowardly 
and  disingenuous,  whereas  the  fair  way  was  to  go  to 
the  root  of  the  complaint,  although  this  might  touch 
my  own  sore,  and  expose  me  to  the  charge  of  fickle- 
ness and  inconsistency.  And  until  I  had  acknow- 
ledged my  mistake,  I  had  no  freedom  to  take  any 
decided  step  in  opposing  what  the  Synod  might  do 
in  following  up  the  new  principle.  I  am  sensible, 
however,  that  it  becomes  me  to  be  modest  and  cau- 
tious in  the  steps  which  1  take;  and  if  ever  I  appear 
to  depart  from  this  line  of  conduct,  (as  no  doubt  I 
may,)  I  think  I  will  tiiank  any  brother  to  put  me  in 
mind  of  my  former  rashness.  I  wish  to  take  no  lead 
in  the  business;  I  would  wish  to  be  silent.  It  pains 
me  exceedingly  to  be  obliged  to  appear  at  this  time 
and  in  this  manner.  But,  according  to  my  present 
views,  I  am  exonerating  my  conscience,  and  perform- 
ing an  important  duty  to  the  body  at  large;  and  this 
I  think,  after  the  most  mature  deliberation  I  have 
been  capable  of,  and  viewing  the  question  in  both 
lights,  and  with  all  its  consequences."* 

*  See  Appendix. 


70  LIFE   OF  DU.    M^CRIE. 

Thus  associated  in  his  opposition  to  the  new  deeds 
with  his  venerable  teacher,  JNIr.  Bruce,  and  other 
brethren,  who  had  protested  against  them,  he  was  led 
into  a  confidential  correspondence  with  them,  from 
which  a  better  idea  may  be  formed,  if  not  of  the  state 
of  the  controversy,  at  least  of  the  spirit  in  which  it 
was  managed  by  them,  than  from  any  thing  they 
offered  to  the  public.  The  two  following  letters  not 
only  exhibit  much  authentic  information  on  the  ge- 
neral subject,  but  set  in  an  attractive  light  the  work- 
ings of  two  ingenuous  spirits,  and  furnish  a  summary 
answer  to  the  unjust  and  ungenerous  construction 
too  frequently  put  on  the  motives  and  conduct  of 
men  who  find  themselves  necessitated  to  oppose  some 
])opular  scheme  of  the  day.  The  strictly  confiden- 
tial nature  of  the  correspondence  might,  under  other 
circumstances,  have  forbidden  its  publication;  but  I 
have  been  induced,  from  a  desire  to  do  full  justice 
to  my  subject,  to  insert  both  letters  entire.  The  first 
is  from  Dr.  M'Crie  to  his  friend  and  counsellor,  Pro- 
fessor Bruce. 

"Edinburgh,  I4th  July,  1800. 
"Reverend  dear  Father, — I  have  been  unwill- 
ing to  break  in  upon  your  retirement,  and  to  trouble 
you  with  a  subject  which  I  know  you  are  backward 
to  correspond  about,  but  can  no  longer  resist  my  de- 
sire to  consult  you.  You  are  partly  acquainted  with 
the  state  of  my  mind  concerning  the  differences  that 
unhappily  subsist  in  the  Synod,  though  I  was  able  but 
ver}'^  imperfectly  to  give  you  an  account  of  it  last 
time  I  was  at  Whitburn.  The  concern  I  must  feel  in 
reflecting  on  the  step  I  took  at  last  meeting  of  Synod, 
compared  with  my  former  conduct,  is  heightened  • 
by  my  situation,  having  no  brother  to  whom  I  can 
freely  and  with  satisfaction  impart  my  fears,  my  anx- 
ieties and  my  difficulties.  Alas!  I  fondly  flattered 
myself  it  would  be  otherwise — that  there  were  many 
like-minded,  that  would  encourage,  go  along  with, 
or  before  me.  My  disappointment  has  been  propor- 
tionally great.     How  diflicult  to  preserve  a  due  mean 


LETTER  TO   MR.   BRUCE.  71 

amidst  tlie  changes  and  disappointments  of  life  !  Sem- 
per in  contraria  vehimur.  We  are  either  buoyed  up 
with  too  big  hopes,  or  swallowed  up  with  overmuch 
sorrow. 

"My  distress  respecting  the  matter  of  our  differ- 
ences and  the  state  of  religion  among  us,  is  in  some 
respects  peculiar,  inasmuch  as  I  must  look  on  mj^self 
as  instrumental  in  contributing,  in  a  considerable 
degree,  to  produce  or  at  least  to  hasten  them  on. 
This  I  cannot  drive  out  of  my  mind  by  all  the  excuses 
which  are  ready  enough  to  present  themselves.  It 
not  only  gives  me  uneasiness  when  I  take  a  retro- 
spect of  my  conduct,  but  it  is  a  source  of  great  dis- 
covu'agement,  when  I  look  forward.  There  is  a  feeling 
of  more  than  awkwardness — a  sense  of  inconsistency 
and  sliame — of  which  I  cannot  divest  myself  in  ap- 
pearing publicly  in  opposition  to  a  measure  which  I 
so  lately  did  materially  solicit  and  indirectly  procure. 
My  conduct  in  this  respect  will  operate,  I  am  afraid, 
as  a  powerful  prejudice  to  man}-.  Besides,  and  what 
should  chiefly  aOect  me,  have  I  not  reason  to  fear 
that,  on  account  of  my  former  miscarriage,  the  Lord 
may  frown  on  my  present  attempts,  and  thus  the 
good  cause  be  hurt  by  my  interference?  I  am  con- 
vinced there  is  something  wrong  in  these  fears,  be- 
cause they  discourage  me  from  proceeding  in  the  path 
of  duty,  but  I  cannot  so  fix  upon  the  deceit  as  to  get 
rid  of  it.  But  do  you  not  think  that  my  former  con- 
duct, together  with  my  youth,  inexperience,  and  the 
extreme  difficulty  of  the  question,  render  it  proper 
that  I  should  not  take  any  thing  like  a  lead  in  the 
business?  Dear  Sir,  I  have  used  the  freedom  to  ob- 
trude upon  you  this  account  of  my  feelings,  encou- 
i-aged  to  it  by  similarit}'  of  sentiments,  (so  far  as  I 
understand  it,)  upon  the  subject  that  has  occasioned 
these,  and  by  your  speaking  freely  to  me  last  time  we 
had  an  opportunity.  I  trust  you  will  take  it  in  good 
jjart,  and  give  me  your  sympathy  and  advice. 

"  I  have  been  lending  my  attention,  so  fiir  as  other 
avocations  would  permit,  to  the  subject  of  the  ma- 


72  LIFE  OF  DR.   M^CRIE, 

gi strata's  power  circa  sacra.  The  more  I  think  and 
read  upon  it,  I  am  the  more  convinced  of  the  difficulty 
of  settling  in  many  cases  the  just  limits  of  magistra- 
tical  and  ministerial  power,  and  am  astonished  at  my 
ignorance  in  formerly  pronouncing  upon  the  question 
with  so  much  decision  and  indifference.  At  the  same 
time,  I  am  more  convinced  of  the  general  principles 
which  for  awhile  I  was  brought  to  doubt,  but  to  the 
belief  of  which  I  have  been  made  to  return — of  their 
importance  to  the  civil  and  religious  interests  of  man- 
kind, and  their  close  connexion  with  the  cause  of  the 
Reformation  and  the  Secession  Testimony.  Besides 
what  1  have  met  with  in  systems,  the  treatise  ex  pro- 
fesso  on  the  head  which  1  have  read  with  the  greatest 
satisfaction  is  Apollonii  Jus  Majeslatis  circa  sacra.  It 
has  been  a  means  of  preserving  me  from  some  Eras- 
tian  rocks  upon  which  I  would  have  been  in  danger 
of  driving  in  seeking  to  escape  the  Sectarian  shore. 
In  the  "  Declaration  and  Defence  of  the  Associate 
Presbytery's  principles,"  &c.,  1  think  the  proper  busi- 
ness of  the  magistrate,  with  the  limits  of  his  autho- 
rity, are  more  clearly  stated  than  they  were  formerly 
by  any  reformed  church:  tliough  certain  expressions 
in  that  paper  (human  wisdom  cannot  prevent  such 
mistakes  and  misconstructions)  have  been  so  con- 
sidered as  to  be  eversive  of  all  the  magistrate's  power 
circa  sacra.  And  certain  parts  of  your  writings  have 
pointed  out  to  me  satisfactorily  the  proper  ground 
upon  which  religious  matters  become  objects  of 
magistratical  power,  and  materially  helped  me  to  un- 
derstand how  this  power  may  be  exercised  upon  them 
without  leading  to  persecution  or  infringing  the  rights 
and  encroaching  on  the  business  of  the  church. 

"My  chief  objections  to  tlie  act  of  Synod  1796 
are  its  vague  and  undetermined  language,  which 
either  implies  or  opens  a  door  for  the  introduction  ad 
libitum  of  all  the  Sectarian  principles,  and  the  con- 
demnation of  the  Confession  of  Faith  without  a  fair 
trial,  and  the  specification  of  the  clauses  and  expres- 
sions   condemned.     One  thing,  however,  which   is 


LETTER  TO  MR.  BRUCE.  7o 

mentioned  in  the  petition  given  in  to  the  Synod,  I 
hesitate  about,  I  mean  the  propriety  of  instituting  an 
examination  into  the  passages  of"  the  Confession.  I 
am  clear  this  ought  to  be  done  before  a  condemna- 
tion; but  as  to  the  propriety  of  this  investigation 
with  a  view  to  Synodical  judgment,  I  much  doubt, 
(even  granting  there  had  been  a  rational  prospect  of 
unanimity,)  considering  the  difficulty  of  the  subject, 
and  of  obtaining  a  just  acquaintance  with  the  senti- 
ments intended  to  be  conveyed  by  the  expressions 
which  the  compilers  used  at  such  a  distance  of  time. 
Would  it  not  be  better  to  give  a  declaration  of  our 
sentiments,  showing  what  is  the  doctrine  we  hold, 
and  that  we  do  not  entertain  principles  leading  to 
persecution,  &c.?  Was  not  this  the  method  pur- 
sued by  the  Associate  Presbytery  in  their  "Act 
anent  the  Doctrine  of  Grace?"  At  any  rate,  before 
the  Synod  come  to  an  examination  of  the  Confession, 
I  would  much  wish  some  conversation  with  3'ou  about 
the  litigated  passages.  That  which  is  contained  in 
the  20th  chapter  has  been  much  complained  of.  I 
acknowledge  I  think  it  wants  that  distinctness  which 
is  to  be  desired.  But  while  some  particulars  there 
mentioned  confessedly  come  under  the  power  of  the 
civil  magistrate;  while  this  power  may  regulate  and 
restrain  practices  connected  with,  and  which  indirectly 
affect  other  particulars;  while  it  is  not  necessary  to 
conclude  that  all  the  particulars  mentioned  come 
under  civil  cognizance,  at  least  upon  the  same  ground 
and  in  the  same  point  of  view;  in  fine,  while  it  is  not 
the  scope  of  that  section  to  state  the  different  and 
respective  objects  of  ecclesiastical  and  civil  jurisdic- 
tion, this  being  stated  in  other  places  of  the  Con- 
fession;— I  apprehend  the  passage  may  be  understood 
in  a  sound  sense.  Equal  injustice  is,  I  think,  done 
to  the  23d  chapter,  when  it  is  urged  that  "the  pre- 
serving of  unity  and  peace  in  the  Church,  keeping 
the  truth  of  God  pure  and  entire,"  &c.,  are  there 
stated  as  direct  and  immediate  objects  of  the  magis- 
trate's power,  in  opposition  to  what  is  laid  down  in 
7 


74  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

the  beginning  of  the  section  and  other  parts  of  the 
Confession. 

"But  my  paper  reminds  me  that  I  have  taken  up 
too  much  of  your  time.  I  must  again  apologize  for 
my  freedom.  It  would  be  a  particular  favour  if  you 
would  write  me  your  advice,  particularly  how  I  ought 
to  conduct  the  petition.  If  this  is  disagreeable  to 
you,  and  you  would  ratlier  communicate  your  senti- 
ments viva  voce)  be  so  good  as  drop  me  a  line,  and  I 
shall  endeavour  to  see  you  any  time  that  is  most  con- 
venient to  you. 

"Though  I  have  been  already  too  tedious,  I  can- 
not conclude  without  mentioning  how  kind  I  took  it 
that  you  so  freely  signitied  your  dissatisfaction  with 
my  printed  sermon.  I  am  more  and  more  convinced 
of  the  bad  tendency  of  some  things  in  it,  especially 
in  the  present  times,  and  of  the  mistaken  view  of  the 
passage  of  history  upon  which  it  is  founded,  which 
did  not  strike  me  till  you  mentioned  it,  though  I  had 
for  a  considerable  time  suspected  some  of  the  infer- 
ences drawn  from  it.  I  would  willingly  do  any  thing 
v/hich  I  thought  necessary  to  counteract  it. 

"  Wishing  you  comfortable  support  under  all  your 
trials,  and  divine  direction  in  what  you  may  be  led 
to,  in  the  present  state  of  the  church,  I  am,  Rev. 
dear  Father,  yours  with  respect  and  atfection, 

"Tho.  M'Crie-'* 

We  now  subjoin  Mr.  Bruce's  reply. 

«  To  the  Rev.  Mr.  Tho.  M'Crie. 

"  Rev.  dear  Brother, — It  is  some  time  since  I 
received  your  agreeable  letter,  and  I  have  hitherto 
unaccountably  postponed  the  answer,  though  every 
day  intending  it.  Ever  since  I  had  the  unexpected 
hint  of  the  late  bias  of  your  sentiments  upon  some 
subjects  of  litigation  in  the  present  time,  you  have 
been  frequently  in  my  thoughts.  While  in  one  view 
I  rejoiced  at  the  event,  I  could  not  but  feel  for  yon  on 
account  of  the  perplexities  and  uneasy  consequences 
to  which  it  would  necessarily  expose  you.     The«e 


MR.  bruce's  reply.  75 

I  have  felt  in  circumstances  somewhat  similar,  in  too 
sensible  a  manner  to  think  lightly  of  them.  Nothing 
of  all  that  you  have  described  as  passing  through 
your  mind,  or  that  has  occurred  hitherto  in  thisafiair, 
needs  to  appear  in  the  least  surprising:  for  all  that, 
and  perhaps  much  more  than  that,  you  should  have 
been  prepared,  while  resolving  to  hold  every  portion 
of  known  truth  as  valuable,  and  to  account  sincerity 
in  a  religious  profession  a  virtue.  Some  who  might 
perhaps  be  ready  to  applaud  this  when  pleaded  as  a 
reason  for  assenting  to  the  received  principles  of  a 
church,  may  think  very  differently  of  it  when  urged 
against  submission  to  undefined  and  unlimited  inno- 
vations. I  give  you  full  credit  for  sincerity,  accord- 
ing to  your  views  of  the  subject,  in  the  part  you  have 
acted  in  this  affair,  first  and  last ;  though  in  the  former 
instance,  I  could  not  but  be  grieved  to  see  it  com- 
bined with  what  I  thought  a  certain  degree  of  rashness 
and  inconsideration,  in  a  matter  of  such  magnitude  and 
difficulty,  which  maturer  reflection  and  progressive 
knowledge  have  at  length  discovered  to  yourself. 
Such  errors  youthful  minds  are  liable  to:  in  the  first 
ebullitions  of  an  ardent  genius,  or  the  earlier  efforts 
of  mental  courage,  yet  untried  and  unchecked,  they 
are  ready  to  attempt  and  think  themselves  equal  to 
every  thing.  And  it  is  good  that  a  wise  Providence 
provides  us  betimes  with  a  check  and  antidote  which 
none,  by  a  little  experience  and  intercourse  with 
mankind,  will  be  lontj;  in  meetins:  with. 

"  Shall  I  apply  here  some  of  the  words  uttered  by 
Evander  over  his  son  Pallas?— 

0  Pallas !  thou  hast  failed  thy  plighted  word, 
To  fight  with  caution,  and  not  tempt  the  sword, 

1  warned  thee,  but  in  vain  ;  for  well  I  knew 
What  perils  youthful  ardour  would  pursue  ; 
That  boiling  blood  would  carry  thee  too  far, 
Young  as  thou  wert  to  dangers,  raw  to  war. 
O  curs'd  essay  of  arms  !  disastrous  doom! 
Prelude  of  bloody  field  and  fights  to  come.* 

*  Dryden's  Virgil,  ^n.  xi.  153.     On  the  margin  of  these  lines 
in  the  original  letter,  I  find  the  following  note  in  my  father's 


76  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

"  Your  late  appearance  in  Synod  affords  a  striking 
proof  of  ingenuity,  [ingenuousness,]  and  wliile  it  must 
give  satisfaction  to  a  number  who  consider  it  in  every 
view  as  needful  and  seasonable,  it  cannot  justly  be 
censured  by  any  friend  to  candour  and  honesty,  as 
either  incompetent  or  dishonourable.  It  has  never 
been  mentioned  to  the  discredit  of  Father  Augustine 
that  he  saw  it  needful,  ere  he  died,  to  write  a  book 
of  Retractations.  "Yea,  what  is  every  year  of  a  wise 
man's  life,"  to  use  the  expression  of  Mr.  Pope  in 
one  of  his  letters,  "  but  a  censure  or  critique  on  the 
past?"  This,  indeed,  bears  hard  on  our  pride,  and 
clips  the  budding  wings  of  our  beloved  fame; — but 
so  much  the  better  for  us:  that  may  be  the  most 
needful  and  beneficial  thing  that  can  befall  us.  In 
such  cases  we  are  chiefly  to  consider  what  is  due  to 
the  cause  of  truth,  and  to  our  own  minds:  and  being 
satisfied  as  to  this,  all  other  things,  such  as  the  con- 
sequences that  may  follow,  or  the  sentiments  that 
others  may  form  of  our  conduct,  must  be  held  of 
inferior  moment.  You  have  perhaps  read  Scott's 
"Force  of  truth;"  if  you  have  not,  it  may  at  this 
time  deserve  a  perusal. 

"  I  once  felt  something  of  the  struggle  you  now 
undergo;  like  that  of  one  who  has  adventurously 
pushed  out  into  the  middle  of  a  stream,  but  instead 
of  reaching  the  other  side,  finds  himself  constrained 
to  return:  though  this  was  happily  over  with  me 
before  I  had  come  forward  into  public  life.  Having 
made  exceptions  to  some  parts  of  our  principles,  and 
made  some  advances,  though  cautiously,  towards  a 
laxer  and  more  fashionable  system,  never  till  the 
time  when  I  was  about  to  discard  them,  did  they 
appear  in  such  a  convincing  and  satisfactory  light. 
After  entering  into  a  course  of  correspondence  with 
a  leader  of  a  certain  modern  party,  and  submitting 

handwriting:  "  Psalm  cxli.  5,  T.  M'C."  The  words  referred  to 
are,  "  Let  the  rigliteous  smite  me;  it  shall  be  a  kindness  :  and  let 
him  reprove  me;  it  shall  be  an  excellent  oil,  which  shall  not  break 
my  head," 


MR.  bruce's  reply.  77 

for  a  time  the  direction  of  my  studies  to  their  advice, 
and  in  the  juncture  when  1  received  a  letter  inti- 
mating their  design  of  taking  steps  towards  h'cense, 
I  found  myself  obliged  to  return  no  other  answer, 
whatever  constructions  might  be  put  upon  it,  than  a 
frank  recantation:  a  step  that,  in  reflection  from  that 
(lay  to  this,  never  gave  me  an  anxious  thought,  but 
much  the  reverse.  This  was  one  of  the  critical  in- 
cidents of  my  life,  as  to  which  I  have  reason  ever 
gratefully  to  acknowledge  the  care  and  goodness  of 
Him  who  is  the  leader  of  the  blind.  I  doubt  not 
hut  in  aiming  singly  at  following  and  honouring  the 
Lord,  you  will  see  cause,  in  the  event,  to  make  a 
similar  acknowledgment.  And  in  vain  will  the 
same  snare  be  spread  in  the  sight  of  any  bird  that  is 
hardly  escaped  from  it. 

"There  is  scarce  any  thing  more  needful  for  per- 
sons setting  out  in  public  life,  and  in  their  progress 
through  it,  than  to  form  a  moderate  estimate  of  their 
own  abilities,  whatever  they  may  be,  as  well  as  of 
the  impression  and  influence  they  may  have  upon 
others,  who  are  not  alwaj's  so  ready  to  yield  even  to 
truth  and  reason,  as  we  may  suppose.  We  may 
think  we  have  the  irresistible  evidence  of  these  on 
our  side,  and  we  may  conclude  that  they  will  instant- 
ly see  and  act  as  we  do,  at  the  first  proposal ;  while 
neither  the  mass  of  the  people,  nor  the  learned,  who 
have  several  views  and  prejudices,  will  see  any  thing 
or  be  disposed  to  acknowledge  any  thing  of  all  this: 
and  it  will  ever  be  found  easier  for  an  individual 
or  a  body  to  deviate  from  the  straight  path,  than  to 
prevail  on  themselves  or  to  prevail  on  others  to 
return  to  it.  When  you  seem  surprised  and  disap- 
pointed that  so  few  should  appear  to  support  your 
late  motion,  you  here  again  betray  some  degree  of 
inexperience  and  want  of  acquaintance  with  the 
human  heart. 

"In  any  attempts  to  carry  into  efieet  necessary 
measures,  particularly  in  the  business  of  the  Church 
Courts,  as,  on  the  other  hand,  none  should   affect 


78  LIFE  OF  DR.    M^CRIE. 

inter  pares  to  take  the  lead,  yet  neither  are  any,  on 
the  other,  to  decline  discharging  the  duty  belonging 
to  their  place  in  a  body,  merely  because  others  may 
decline  going  before  them  or  even  taking  any  share 
with  them.  It  is  for  our  own  conduct  alone  we  are 
responsible,  not  for  that  of  others.  Besides  the  com- 
mon right  or  obligation  of  members  to  insist  upon  a 
motion  or  petition,  there  may  be  something  in  this 
case  peculiarly  incumbent  on  you.  But  as  for  that 
part  of  your  petition  that  requires  a  review  of  the 
doctrines  of  the  Confession  and  a  judgment  upon 
ihem,  though,  if  it  was  necessary  at  all,  it  ought 
doubtless  to  have  preceded  the  sentence  already  pro- 
nounced upon  them,  I  cannot  see,  nor  did  I  ever  see, 
any  desirable  end  to  be  gained  by  such  discussions: 
and  from  the  desultory  conversations,  and  the  vague 
ineffective  disputes  that  have  for  a  long  time  occu- 
pied the  Synod,  I  am  more  and  more  convinced  that 
it  could  answer  no  good  purpose  to  bring  these  or 
any  general  principles  into  present  discussion:  espe- 
cially as  this  cause  is  already  prejudged,  or  lies  suh 
judice  in  another  shape.  A  mere  declaratory  act, 
without  either  a  direct  or  implied  condemnation,  [of 
the  Confession,]  was  all  that  was  at  first  proposed, 
and  all  that  was  needful. 

"In  conclusion  of  my  reasons  of  protest  against 
this  act  as  extended,  I  crave  that  the  act  be  not  only 
repealed,  but  that  the  overture  that  gave  rise  to  it  be 
dismissed.  When  your  paper  was  read,  I  could  not 
but  be  struck  with  the  similarity  of  reasoning,  and 
even  a  coincidence  almost  in  language  in  some  parts 
of  it,  with  what  I  had  used  in  some  of  these  reasons, 
though  without  any  direct  communication:  this  I 
consider  as  a  proof  of  the  evidence  of  truth  when 
fleliberately  and  impartially  viewed.  It  is  not  impos- 
sible but  others,  through  time,  may  fall  into  the  same 
train  of  reading  and  thinking;  but  I  am  afraid  the 
mischief  will  be  done  before  we  have  the  satisfaction 
to  see  this.  At  present,  for  all  our  boasted  illumi- 
nation, I  think,  upon  the  whole,  that  we  in  this  age 


MR.  bruce's  replv.  79 

are  inferior  to  the  preceding  in  a  clear  and  extensive 
knowledge  of  the  subject. 

"Apollonius  is  an  author  who  has  been  much 
esteemed  by  Presbyterians: — I  have  seen  him  often 
quoted,  though  I  never  could  meet  with  him,  Voe- 
tius,  too,  in  his  Ecclesiastical  Polity,  has  entered 
closely  into  the  argument,  and  deserves  to  be  read. 

"In  your  comment  on  the  disputed  paragraphs,  I 
do  not  perceive  any  thing  objectionable:  but  to  enter 
on  any  particular  vindication  of  them  would  exceed 
the  limits  of  a  letter.  An  interview  with  you,  in 
which  we  might  have  talked  over  the  subject,  would 
have  been  very  agreeable  to  me,  but  I  was  averse  to 
desire  you  to  take  the  trouble  of  a  journey  solely  on 
that  account.  I  have  been  more  at  home  this  sum- 
mer than  formerly,  partly  through  the  resolution  I 
thought  myself  shut  up  to  take,  for  which  I  doubt  not 
I  shall  be  generally  blamed:  but  this  is  the  critical 
era  in  which  a  new  system  and  constitution  is  to  be 
established  and  practically  submitted  to,  or  else  deci- 
sively negatived.  We  forbear  this  season  to  dispense 
the  communion,  as  the  most  peaceable  and  least  of- 
fensive course  in  reference  to  neighbours  in  present 
circumstances. 

"One  observation  T  was  going  to  make,  in  refer- 
ence to  chapter  20th  of  the  Confession,  that  is  gene- 
rally ov^erlooked  in  the  declarations  against  it: — That 
it  is  not  the  holding  or  publishing  such  opinions  or 
maintaining  such  practices  as  are  there  described 
simply  in  themselves  considered,  that  renders  persons 
obnoxious  either  to  ecclesiastical  or  civil  process,  but 
such  as  are  accompanied  with  public  offence  and  pre- 
judice to  the  respective  societies;  or  in  other  words, 
such  as  are  attended  with  contempt  or  resistance  of 
any  lawful  power,  or  the  lawful  exercise  of  that 
power;  for  the  persons  chargeable  with  these  are 
the  subject  of  the  whole  paragraph,  as  appears  from 
the  connexion. 

"I  was  able  to  speak  but  very  indistinctly  upon 
the  particulars  in  the  printed  sermon,   not   having 


EO  LIFE   OF  DR.   M'cniE. 

looked  over  the  jottings  from  the  time  1  had  taken 
them.  But  the  manner  in  which  you  again  speak  on 
this,  and  the  spirit  you  have  discovered  in  reference 
to  it,  not  only  removes  the  particular  offence  as  to 
me,  but  cannot  fail  to  raise  you  more  in  my  esteem. 
Whether  any  thing  farther  may  be  proper  for  the 
sake  of  others,  and  in  order  to  wrest  a  weapon  out 
of  the  hand  of  latitudinarians,  which  had  been  un- 
warily conceded  to  them,  or  what  that  might  be, 
shall  be  left  at  present  to  your  own  consideration;  I 
will  not  say  a  word  of  it  on  paper. — Wishing  you 
divine  conduct  and  support,  1  am.  Rev.  and  dear 
brother,  yours  affectionately, 

"Arch.  Bruce." 

On  these  letters  I  need  scarcely  offer  any  com- 
ment. The  conscientiousness,  the  brotherly  candour, 
the  humility,  which  they  breathe,  must  commend 
them  to  all  who  attach  any  importance  to  a  faith- 
ful profession  of  religion.  To  some,  the  feelings 
of  self-reproach  with  which  Dr.  M'Crie  reflected  on 
the  share  he  had  in  procuring  the  Act  1796,  may 
seem  to  be  strained  beyond  the  real  magnitude  of 
the  offence;  but  after  perusing  this  correspondence, 
few  can  fail  to  admire  the  moral  heroism  required  to 
sacrifice  at  the  shrine  of  conscience,  the  suggestions 
of  natural  pride  and  early  prejudice,  a  sacrifice  which, 
in  this  instance,  being  the  result  of  mature  and  anx- 
ious inquiry,  exhibits  a  striking  illustration  of  "the 
force  of  truth." 

"J  am  still,"  he  writes,  in  August  1800,  to  another 

correspondent,  ^'directly  or  indirectly  inquiring  into 

the  old  subject;  endeavouring  to  find  out  'the  good 

old  path  '  from  which  1  foolishly  wandered,  and  for 

this   purpose   searching   after   books   which   I    h.ad 

thrown  away: — 

Insanientis  duni  sapientiiB 

Consultus  erro,  nunc  retiorsum 

Vela  dare,  atque  iterare  cursus 

Cogor  relictos."* 

"  Hor.  Carm.  lib.  i,  ode  34- 


COURSE  OP  STUDY  ON  THE  QUESTION.  SI 

The  course  of  reading  to  which  he  now  devoted 
himself,  embraced  the  polemical  writings  of  the  most 
famous  divines  who  flourished  during  the  15th  and 
16th  centuries.  From  these  giants  in  theology,  who 
have  anticipated  all  the  arguments  and  objections 
of  modern  times,  he  received  much  of  his  informa- 
tion on  the  doctrine  regarding  the  duty  of  the  civil 
magistrate.*  Nor  did  he  fail  to  investigate  what 
may  be  termed  the  philosophy  of  the  question,  com- 
prising the  principles  of  Scriptural  interpretation  and 
the  analogies  between  natural  and  revealed  religion, 
a  knowledge  of  which  is  essential  to  a  right  under- 
standing of  the  controversy.  On  tliis  subject  he 
always  acknowledged  himself  peculiarly  indebted  to 
Bishop  Butler's  "Analogy  between  Natural  and 
Revealed  Religion,"  Alluding,  many  years  after- 
wards, in  one  of  his  lectures,  to  the  advantages  of 
applying  the  principle  of  analogy  to  the  interpretation 
of  the  Old  Testament,  he  paid  the  following  com- 
pliment to  that  celebrated  treatise: — "It  was  from 
this  book,  (nothing  the  worse  of  being  written  by  a 
bishop,)  that  I  learned  this  principle  of  interpretation, 
and  have  been  confirmed  in  many  truths  of  which  it 
does  not  speak  a  word,  and  which  probably  never 
entered  the  mind  of  the  author.     It  is  by  it  that  I 

*  Dr.  M'Crie's  library  was  stored  with  the  writings  of  the  Dutch 
and  German  divines  of  the  17th  century,  the  only  writers  who 
can  be  said  to  have  treated  the  question  of  the  magistrate's 
power  in  regard  to  religion  in  a  scientific  manner.  His  principal 
lavourite  was  Voet'ms,  who,  in  his  elaborate  treatises  on  Ecclesias- 
tical Polity,  has  almost  exhausted  the  subject.  Bernard  de  Moor 
was  another  author  to  whom  he  owned  himself  much  indebted. 
The  work  of  ^IpoHonius,  to  which  he  refers,  was  intended  chiefly 
to  answer  a  book  written  by  Professor  Vcdelivs  of  Frankfort,  en- 
titled De  Episcopatu  Cotistantini  Magni,  which  favoured  the 
Erastian  heresy,  and  maintained  the  untenable  doctrine  of  the 
magistrate's  power  in  matters  of  religion.  Apollonius  commends 
the  Scots  for  having  struck  the  golden  mean  in  this  delicate  ques- 
tion, wit!)  more  success  than  tiie  German,  Swiss,  or  English  di- 
vines. The  other  theological  and  critical  writers  wiiich  Dr. 
M'Crie  consulted  on  this  question  were  such  as  Rivet,  Vilringa, 
Gerhard,  Walleus,  Turretine,  &.c.  The  Erastianism  of  Warbur- 
ton,  and  the  utilitarianism  of  Paley,  kept  them,  of  course,  out  of 
his  list  of  authorities. 


82  LIFE   OF  DPw   M'CRIE, 

have  learned  to  expound  the  historical  books  of  the 
Old  Testament  with  some  degree  of  profit,  without 
having  recourse  to  type,  allegory  or  accommodation. 
It  was  by  it  that  I  was  prevented  from  becoming  an 
Independent,  a  Baptist,  or  an  enemy  to  religious 
establishments;  and  by  it  I  learned  that  I  could  be 
friendly  to  such  establishments,  and  to  the  Protestant 
constitution  of  my  country,  though  I  never  partook 
of  their  worldly  emoluments — a  fact  which  appears  a 
mystery  and  a  miracle  to  some  wise  heads  and  would- 
be  statesmen." 

It  may  be  more  interesting  to  the  general  reader 
to  learn  that  the  controversy  on  which  he  now  entered, 
was  the  means  of  drawing  his  attention  to  the  study 
of  ecclesiastical  history,  and  particularly  that  of  his 
own  country.  It  appears  from  various  notebooks, 
that  he  had  beg-un  in  1802  to  collect  facts  connected 
with  the  history  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  from  the 
Reformation,  and  to  arrange  them  in  chronological 
order.  The  extent  of  reading  shown  in  these  notes 
and  references,  indicate  that  he  had  for  some  time 
previous  been  engaged  in  the  study  of  general  his- 
tory. To  this  study  he  brought  a  mind  unfettered 
by  prejudice  ;  for  it  was  some  time  before  he  attained 
those  decided  views  on  the  question  of  the  magis- 
trate's power  which  he  ever  after  held  through  life. 

The  following  extracts  from  his  correspondence  at 
this  period  may  serve  to  show  the  gradual  manner  in 
which  his  opinions  were  matured  and  enlarged  on  this 
question: — '-^ April  1801. — You  seem  to  think  that 
I  imagine  I  have  got  satisfaction  as  to  the  question 
of  the  magistrate's  power.  Any  thing  1  have  said 
as  to  this  must  be  understood  of  general  principles. 
I  am  far  from  being  free  from  difficulties,  nor  do  I 
think  the  subject  free  from  them.  Your  remark 
concerning  the  Jewish  kings  is  certainly  just.  Every 
part  of  worship  almost  was  typical  under  the  Old 
Testament ;  was  there  therefore  no  real  worship 
offered  up  to  God  at  that  time,  no  real  external  as 
well  as  internal  worship?     But  the  difficulty  is  to 


OPEXING  OF   HIS   VIEWS.  S3 

ascertain  how  far  their  example  is  a  pattern  to  Chris- 
tian kings,  and  how  far  it  was  peculiar  to  them. 
There  certainly  was  an  exercise  of  their  office  which 
was  peculiar;  but  tiie  Overture  makes  it  all  peculiar. 
You  have  read  what  the  London  Ministers  upon 
Presbyterian  government  say  respecting  the  magis- 
trate's power.  Gillespie,  in  his  Aaroix's  Rod,  has 
some  excellent  things  upon  it.  The  Answers  to 
Nairn  defend  the  magistrate's  power  upon  natural 
not  revealed  principles ;  but  natural  principles  are 
exemplified,  illustrated  and  enforced  in  Scripture. 
The  moral  law  is  founded  on  natural  principles;  but 
who  refuses  to  appeal  to  the  more  perfect  edition  of 
it  in  the  Scriptures?  Ey  maintaining  this  ground,  we 
can  answer  the  objection  drawn  from  the  silence  of 
the  New  Testament  upon  the  subject,  and  avail  our- 
selves of  the  examples  in  the  Old;  at  the  same  time 
that  we  do  not  plead  for  imitation  in  things  which 
depended  upon  positive  prescription,  or  were  pecu- 
liar to  that  dispensation.  And  it  can  be  proved 
that  Presbyterians  of  the  17th  century  stated  it 
upon  the  same  grounds,  although  some  of  the  first 
reformers  seem  to  have  thought  the  example  of  the 
Jewish  kings  in  all  respects  imitable  by  Christian 
kings.  The  Erastian  controversy  did  great  good."* 
In  March  1804,  he  speaks  more  decidedly: — "It 
is  easy  for  persons  to  catch  hold  of  abstract  and  dis- 
jointed expressions  and  propositions,  and  to  give 
them  a  sense  which  will  be  contradictory.  A  Soci- 
nian  will  insist  that  there  is  a  contradiction  between 
tlie  fourth  and  fifth  questions  in  our  Shorter  Cate- 
chism. It  is  now  commonly  alleged,  that  there  is 
an  inconsistency  between  the  declaration  in  the  Con- 
fession of  Faith,  that  'God  alone  is  Lord  of  the  con- 
science,' and  what  follows  as  to  the  claim  of  liberty 
of  conscience  to  exeem  persons  from  the  lawful  juris- 
diction of  courts  civil  and  ecclesiastical;  yet  it  is 
no  difficult  matter  to  show  the  agreement  of  these. 
— I  do  not  see  why  we  should  be  excluded  from  all 

•  To  Rev.  James  Aitken,  8tli  April,  ISOl. 


84  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

reasoning  from  the  example  of  the  Jewish  kings  as 
to  religion  any  more  than  as  to  mere  politics.  In 
both  these  there  were  peculiarities,  for  which  allow- 
ance must  be  made.  We  have  also  approved  actings 
of  heathen  magistrates  respecting  the  true  religion, 
which  shows  that  this  exercise  of  civil  power  is 
founded  on  natural  principles:  only,  in  applying  these, 
respect  is  to  be  had  to  the  form  in  which  religion 
appeared  at  that  time,  and  to  the  circumstances  in 
which  the  enactments  took  place. 

"If  the  exercise  of  the  magistrate's  office  must  be 
defended  by  natural  principles,  then  ^i<re  Aere^y  can- 
not be  an  act  of  State  delinquency,  so  as  to  expose  a 
man  to  punishment,  or  to  the  loss  of  natural  rights. 
]iy  pure  hei'esy  I  mean  opinions  opposite  to  the  doc- 
trines of  revelation  which  have  not  connected  with 
them  any  thing  prejudicial  to  the  public  good;  but 
there  may  be  many  opinions  for  which  persons  set  up 
the  plea  of  conscience  which  are  yet  contrary  to  the 
light  of  nature,  and  which  either  lead  unto  or  are 
associated  with  what  is  hurtful  to  civil  society,  or  to 
a  particular  lawful  and  well-regulated  constitution. 
These  may  be  restrained  according  to  the  degree  of 
the  danger.  As  to  other  erroneous  opinions,  they  may 
be  opposed  by  those  'powerful  discouragements' 
which  do  not  infringe  upon  natural  rights.  But  one 
cannot  discuss  such  points  in  the  bounds  of  a  letter, 
nor  do  I  pretend  to  be  qualified  for  it." 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  overture  for  a  New 
Testimony,  which  proved  the  occasion  of  the  contro- 
versy in  which  Dr.  M'Crie  became  involved  with  his 
brethren.  In  opposing  this  overture,  he  and  his 
associates  for  some  years  contented  themselves  with 
protesting,  separately  at  first,  and  afterwards  con- 
jointly, against  the  proposed  changes,  at  the  different 
stages  through  which  it  passed.  That  the  reader 
may  obtain,  at  one  glance,  a  view  of  the  doctrines 
which  were  opposed  b}^  these  ministers,  I  shall  pre- 
sent them  in  the  language  of  one  of  their  papers,  from 
which  it  will  be  seen,  that  I  hey  were  materially  the 
points  at  issue  in  the  present  Voluntary  controversy. 


SUJIMARY  VIEW  OF  THE  CONTROVEKSY.  85 

"It  appears  now  too  evident,  not  only  from  the 
known  sentiments  and  private  writings  of  some  mem- 
bers, but  from  ihe  late  public  deeds  and  votes  of  the 
Synod,  that  they  have  adopted  a  different  scheme, 
and  have  given  countenance  to  what  have  been  usually 
accounted  Anabaptistical,  Sectarian  or  Independent 
tenets  on  these  heads,  which  had  been  formerly  re- 
nounced and  solemnly  abjured    by  them;    and    that 
they  have  in  so  far  befriended  the  principles  and 
designs  of  some  modern  infidels  and  politicians,  which 
tend  to  make  a  total  separation  of  civil  government 
and  religion,  as  if  the  interests  of  the  latter  in  no 
shape  pertained  to  the  former,  farther  than  to  grant 
and  secure  equal  liberty  and  privileges  to  all  religious 
S3'stems;  that  hereby  they  have  unduly  restricted  the 
exercise  and  interfered  with  the  rights  of  civil  so- 
vernment,  have  represented  all  active  countenance 
and  support  to  any  particular  religion,  or  any  sanc- 
tion to  church-deeds  by  human  laws,  as  an  Erastian 
encroachment,  a  confounding  of  the    temporal    and 
spiritual  jurisdiction,  and    as    necessarily    involving 
persecution  for  conscience'  sake;  while  the  rights  of 
consciencehave  been  so  explained  as  to  favouranarchy 
and  licentiousness  in  ail  matters  pertaining  to  reli- 
gion, in  defiance  of  all  restraint  by  human  authority 
of  any  kind.     The  question  is  now  no  longer,  under 
what  limitations,  or  in  what  manner  may  magistrates 
exercise  their  power  circa  sacra?  but,  whether  there 
be  any  power  of  this  kind  competent  to  them  ? — The 
autiiority  itself,  in  whatever  degree,  or  however  ap- 
plied, is  at  last  by  the  Synod  declared  to  he  a  nonen- 
tity.    In  consequence,  a  national  religion,  national 
covenants,  and  national  churches,  in  the  usual  and 
proper  acceptation  of  the  words,  are  exploded  as  an 
absurdity:    all  tests  which    tend   to   make   religious 
distinctions,  or  which  may  be  used  as  qualifications 
for  offices  of  power  and  trust,  supreme  or  subordinate, 
are  virtually  condemned;  and  all  constitutions  and 
laws  that  imply  the  exercise  of  such  a  power,  in  every 
Protestant  and  Christian  nation,  ought  wholly  to  be 
S 


86  LIFE   OF  BR.  M^CRIE. 

abolished.  The  precepts,  examples,  predictions  and 
promises  in  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  which 
have  hitherto  been  adduced  as  Avarrants  for  such 
things,  are  held  to  be  inapplicable,  and  in  this  view 
inconsistent  with  the  nature  of  the  New  Testament 
dispensation;  by  which,  countenance  has  been  given 
to  the  error  which  represents  the  Church  of  God 
under  the  Old  Testament  to  have  been  essentially 
different  from  that  under  the  New,"  &c.* 

Thus  involved  in  controversy  with  brethren  whom 
he  respected,  and  with  many  of  whom  he  had  lived 
on  terms  of  friendship,  the  subject  of  our  memoir 
perceived,  with  the  deepest  grief,  the  prospect  of 
agreement  with  them  becoming  darker  at  every  step. 
All  the  motives  of  peace,  (and  none  felt  them  more 
strongly  than  he,)  all  his  personal  and  relative  inte- 
rests urged  him  to  go  with  the  tide,  and  it  is  not  easy 
to  conceive  the  distress  he  had  to  suffer  in  following 
an  opposite  course.  So  far  as  he  saw  proper  to  make 
it  known,  it  could  not  be  better  described  than  in  the 
language  which  he  employs  in  the  following  extracts 
from  his  correspondence: — 

*■'■  t.iugust  8,1800. — Things  look  very  gloomy 
among  us,  both  as  a  church  and  a  nation.  My  mind 
turns  aside  from  contemplating  the  prospect,  and  stops 
short  in  tracing  consequences.  There  seems  much 
need  for  the  exercise  of  faith  in  a  text  from  which 
you  once  preached  to  us,  'At  evening  time  it  shall 
be  light.' — May  we  be  directed  to  the  path  of  duty  by 
Him  who  brings  the  blind  by  a  ivny  they  know  noi.'"f 

^'■Jljiril  8,  1801.— 1  certainly  agree  with  you  in 
the  propriety  of  brethren  who  have  seen  it  their  duty 
to  oppose  certain  present  innovations  in  our  princi- 
ples studying  to  understand  one  another's  views  in 
order  to  their  acting  with  harmony.  At  the  same 
time  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  the  mode  which 

*  Substance  of  the  paper  given  in  by  the  protesting  ministers 
to  the  general  Associate  Synod,  May  ISOti,  appended  to  Dr. 
M'Crie's  Statement  of  the  DifFerencCj  &c.,  p.  225. 

\  To  the  Bev.  James  Aitkcn. 


FEELINGS  ON  ENTERING  INTO  CONTROVERSY.    87 

has  been  hitherto  pursued,  has  been  attended  with 
good  consequences.  While  the  question  has  remained 
sub  Judice,  and  we  have  acted,  in  common  with 
other  members,  in  giving  our  opinions,  there  has  been 
no  appearance  of  party,  consequent!}'  no  occasion 
given  for  imputing  contendings  to  partly  prejudice. 
On  the  other  hand,  is  there  no  evidence  of  the  Divine 
hand  in  leading  those  who  have  contended  singl)'-,  and 
in  bringing  forward  others,  in  a  more  or  less  expected 
manner,  as  the  affair  has  approached  to  a  decision? 
And  may  we  not  look  to  the  same  quarter  for  har- 
mony and  concert  when  the  crisis  shall  render  a 
united  effort  necessary  ?  I  have  been  endeavouring 
to  discover  some  period  of  the  Church  similar  to  that 
in  which  our  lot  is  cast,  that  an  example  for  imita- 
tion might  be  drawn  from  it,  but  cannot  say  that  any 
altogether  similar  can  be  fixed  upon.  Perhaps  the 
period  of  the  Public  Resolutions  approaches  nearest 
to  it.  But  the  Leader  of  the  blind  can  bring  by 
paths  that  have  not  been  trode,  although  doubtless 
it  is  our  duty  to  'go  out  by  the  footsteps  of  the  flock,' 
as  far  as  we  can  trace  them  following  our  common 
Shepherd."* 

^^March  9,  1804. — I  would  have  written  you 
sooner,  but  what  with  labours  in  the  congregation, 
and  with  the  Magazine,  which  easily  fatigue  my  infirm 
body,  and  waste  my  animal  spirits,  and  what  with 
anxiety  and  distress  of  mind,  I  have  either  had  no 
leisure,  or  have  not  had  fortitude  to  occupy  it. — You 
know  how  ready  selfishness  is  to  creep  in,  and  will 
not  therefore  be  surprised  to  hear  me  say  that  some- 
times I  think  my  situation  worse  than  that  of  other 
brethren.  I  need  to  be  taught  the  lesson  of  the 
apostle,  'There  hath  no  temptation  taken  you  but 
such  as  is  common  to  men.' — In  all  these  thino;s  I 
can  see  Providence  contending  against  me  for  various 
unadvised  and  sinful  parts  of  my  conduct.  But  the 
Lord  is  holy,  and  has  wise  ends  to  serve  in  all  these 
things.  I  have  been  endeavouring  to  preach  for 
*  To  the  same. 


SS  LIFE   OF  DU.   M'CKIE. 

some  time  on  Isaiah  viii.  17, — 'I  will  wait  upon  the 
Lord  that  hideth  his  face  from  the  house  of  Jacob, 
and  I  will  look  for  him.'  What  a  heavy  thing  it  is 
to  enter  lightly  and  without  deliberation  upon  the 
work  of  the  ministry!  What  would  1  give  to  have 
some  of  my  years  blotted  out — but  how  vain!  for 
nothing  but  experience  will  correct  some  persons. 
What  a  relief  would  it  be,  provided  conscience  would 
permit,  to  retire  to  solitude,  instead  of  entering  into 
the  storm  of  contention  and  strife!"* 


CHAPTER  III. 

FROM  THE  COMMENCEMENT  OF  HIS  CONTROVERSY 
WITH  THE  SYNOD  TO  THE  PUBLICATION  OF  THE 
LIFE  OF  KNOX. 

1804  —  1811. 

We  have  now  seen  the  subject  of  our  memoirs  in- 
volved in  a  contest  with  his  brethren  on  points  which, 
though  not  immediately  affecting  the  vital  truths  of 
Christianity,  have  been  too  well  proved  of  late  years 
to  be  essentially  connected  with  the  peace  and  the 
interests  of  society,  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical. 
Following  the  course  which  we  have  proposed,  of 
permitting  him  whose  life  we  are  recording,  to  act, 
as  far  as  possible,  the  part  of  his  own  biographei',  we 
now  lay  before  our  readers  a  [ew  extracts  from  his 
correspondence  with  Mr.  Bruce,  which  may  give  them 
some  idea  of  the  manner  in  which  matters  were 
managed  in  the  General  Synod,  previous  to  the  in- 
troduction of  the  New  Testimony.  The  other  points 
incidentally  noticed,  may,  it  is  hoped,  be  found  not 
uninteresting. 

"March  5,  1801. — I  do  not  know  if  I  mentioned 
to  you,  that  the  paper  of  authorities  which  I  read  to 

*  To  the  same. 


REFORMERS — "  PETIT-ANDREWS."  89 

you,  was  begun  with  some  view  of  laying  it  in  some 
way  before  the  Synod.  This  was  suggested  to  me  by 
the  manner  in  which  the  twelve  brethren  proceeded 
respecting  the  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  con- 
demning some  parts  of  the  Marrow.  I.  thought  that 
this  might  be  a  means  of  making  some  members  of 
the  Synod  more  cautious  in  proceeding  to  ratify  the 
condemnation  of  the  Confession  of  Faith.  But  when 
I  began  to  consider  how  limited  my  reading  had  been 
on  that  subject,  I  was  convinced  I  could  not  do  jus- 
tice to  the  cause,  and  had  not  a  call  to  proceed  in 
that  way,  at  least  by  myself;  and  I  resolved  to  ask 
your  advice,  whether  any  thing  of  a  similar  kind  was 
incumbent  on  the  friends  of  the  Reformation,  or 
whether  they  should  decline  any  thing  of  the  kind 
until  the  accusations  against  the  compilers  of  the 
Confession  and  our  reformers  be  substantiated  by 
proofs. 

"I  would  much  wish  that  you  would  proceed, 
according  as  health  and  leisure  will  permit,  with  the 
works  you  mentioned,  and  have  long  designed." 
(He  refers  to  a  selection  from  the  works  of  the 
reformers.)  "They  would  certainly  be  a  great  acqui- 
sition to  the  reformed  cause,  and  '  The  Library '  is 
becoming  daily  more  necessary  from  the  neglect  with 
which  the  reformed  writers  are  treated.  If  I  could 
encourage  you  by  any  assistance  in  this,  my  leisure 
time  and  my  labour  shall  not  be  wanting.  By  your 
direction  I  might  take  a  great  part  of  the  drudgery 
off  your  hands  in  abridging  some  works,  where  care 
and  constancy  might  in  some  measure  make  up  for 
the  want  of  other  qualifications.  I  might  procure 
Zuinglius'  works.  I  have  some  of  the  writings  of 
another  Swiss  divine,  Aretius,  and  could  get  all  of 
them.  You  speak  of  confining  yourself  to  the  writers 
in  the  reformed  churches.  Would  it  not  be  proper 
to  include  Luther  and  Melancthon,  who  had  such  an 
eminent  share  in  the  Reformation? 

"1  send  you,  according  to  promise,  Haldane's  Ad- 
dress, with  an  Anabaptist  pamphlet  on  a  part  of  the 
8* 


90  LIFE   OF  DE.  IM'Cr.IE. 

same  subject.  The  political  opinions  defended  in 
them  are  gaining  ground  here  among  those  that  pre- 
tend to  religion,  and  have  a  wonderful  influence  in 
prejudicing  them  against  the  Scotch  Reformation." 

'•'■  Fehrxiary  9,  1802. — You  will  receive  with  this 
a  proof  of  the  manuscript  last  sent.  I  was  much 
gratified  by  the  discipline  you  administered  to  that 
anecdote-monger,  Pelit-Jindrews*  I  used  the  free- 
dom of  adding  one  to  the  number  of  opprobrious 
epithets  you  had  selected,  although  the  number  was 
sufficiently  great  before.  When  yours  came  to  hand, 
I  had  just  finished  the  reading  of  him,  not  without 
indignation,  and  w.ould  as  soon  read  the  adventures 
of  Joseph  Andrews  as  be  condemned  to  go  through 
the  same  drudgery  a  second  time.  There  is  some- 
thing in  the  modern  study  of  the  fine  arts,  belles 
lettres,  and  mere  antiquities,  that  gives  the  mind  a 
littleness  which  totally  unfits  it  for  being  suitably 
affected  with  things  truly  great  in  characters  eminent 
for  love  of  religion,  liberty  and  true  learning.  To 
demolish  a  Gothic  arch,  break  a  pane  of  painted  glass, 
or  deface  a  picture,  are  with  them  acts  of  ferocious 
sacrilege  not  to  be  atoned  for,  the  perpetrators  of 
which  must  be  ipso  facto  excommunicated  from,  all 
civil  society,  and  reckoned  henceforth  among  savages; 
while  to  preserve  these  magnificent  trifles,  for  which 
they  entertain  a  veneration  little  less  idolatrous  than 
their  Popish  or  Pagan  predecessors,  they  would  con- 
sign whole  nations  and  generations  to — ignorance  and 
perdition.  Excuse  the  rhapsody,  and  pass  with  a  smile 
this  ebullition  of  my  new-caught  enthusiasm.  I  have 
sent  you  a  pnper  containing  remarks  on  the  23d 
chapter  (of  the  Confession:)  also,  the  Reasons  of 
Dissent  formerly  read  before  the  Synod." 

"May  1,1802, — On  Thursday  the  Synod  heard 
papers  of  Remonstrance  from  Messrs.  Whytock  and 

*  This  refers  to  the  Continuation  of  Henry's  History  by  An- 
drews, a  violent  calumniator  of  the  Scottish  reformers,  and  whose 
tirades  and  libels  were  severely  rebuked  by  Mr.  Bruce  in  his 
Historico-Politico  Dissertation,  p.  94-96. 


PROGRESS  OF  JMATTERS  IN  SYNOD.  91 

Chalmers,  and  also  Reasons  of  Protest,  with  answers 
to  them  by  the  committee,  who  had  been  at  consi- 
derable pains.  The  answers  were  drawn  up  with 
great  speciousness  and  severity,  and  being  read  to  a 
partial  audience,  were  warmly  received.  They  did 
not  deny  the  more  general  idea  of  vows,  &c.,  but 
asserted  that  the  Synod  had  not  to  do  with  it;  they 
denied  that  charges  were  brought  against  our  Cove- 
nants in  the  New  Testimony — maintained  that  the 
Synod  had  not  dropped  nor  meant  to  drop  a  testi- 
mony for  attainments,  ami  for  this  referred  to  the 
Acknowledgment  of  Sins,  insisting  that  the  Protest- 
ers had  been  premature,  &c.  In  my  opinion  there 
was  much  sophistry  and  evasion  in  them,  but  calcu- 
lated to  impose  upon  people.  After  all,  however, 
the  Synod  agreed  only  in  this,  that  the  Reasons  of 
Protest  were  sufficiently  ansvvered  by  them,  but  that 
they  were  not  to  be  understood  as  approving  of  every 
'mode  of  expression,'  which,  in  the  modern  language 
of  the  Synod,  means  every  senth7ient.'' 

'^  May  13,  1802.  —  I  wrote  you  before  what  the 
S)'nod  had  done  as  to  the  New  Testimon3^  They 
have  resolved  to  employ  almost  the  whole  of  their 
meeting  in  August  about  the  Narrative  and  Intro- 
duction. I  begin  to  believe  now  that  they  will  intro- 
duce a  testimony  for  the  attainments  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  &c.,  however  inconsistent  this  be  with  what 
they  have  enacted.  The  leading  men  from  the  west, 
and  the  Doctor  from  the  south,  have  adopted  the  idea, 
and  others  who  expressed  themselves  decidedly 
against  it  v/ill  fall  in  for  peace'  sake  and  the  necessity 
of  the  times.  At  the  same  time,  it  will  be  so  limited, 
that  the  friends  to  the  former  testimony  will  be  unable 
to  accede  to  it.  1  see  more  and  more  the  justice  of  a 
remark  of  yours,  that  the  corrections  that  we  got 
inserted  do  little  real  good  to  the  cause.  The  only 
use  I  see  that  they  make  of  papers  given  in,  is  to 
make  the  changes  less  gross  and  apparent,  while  they 
still  maintain  their  main  ground.  Yet  I  cannot  see 
but  it  is  our  duty  to  use  means  of  this  kind." 


02  LIFE  OP  DR.  M'CRIE. 

"September  4,  1802. — I  have  scarcely  been  able  to 
be  present  at  any  of  the  sederunts  of  Synod,  although 
I  regret  it  the  less  as  I  cannot  see  that  I  could  have 
reaped  much  benefit  or  done  any  good.  The  Synod 
have  spent  all  this  week  upon  the  latter  part  of  the 
narrative — to  what  purpose  they  themselves  cannot 
say,  nor  have  they  ever  determined.  It  is  too  evident 
they  know  not  what  they  do,  nor  whether  they  are 
leading  themselves  or  the  people.  The  Western 
Committee,  (now  a  little  come  to  themselves,)  instead 
of  bringing  up  answers  to  the  remaining  papers 
against  the  enactments  of  the  New  Testimony,  as  their 
friends  expected,  have  materially  confessed  that  the 
act  needs  reconsideration  and  revisal.  They  have 
brought  in  an  overture  containing  about  seven  or  eight 
propositions  respecting  covenanting  and  the  connex- 
ion between  religious  and  civil  matters,  which  they 
propose  to  be  introduced  as  a  preamble  and  an  integral 
part  of  the  Testimony  as  well  as  the  Introduction. 
Along  with  many  things  exceptionable,  they  contain 
a  declaration  in  favour  of  defensive  war  for  religion 
and  liberty,  and  of  the  magistrate's  restraining  pro- 
fane swearing,  blasphemy,  &c.  It  was  merely  read, 
and  I  suppose  will  be  taken  into  consideration  next 
week.  This,  though  unexpected,  and  though  it 
shows  that  these  brethren  have  become  more  sen- 
sible of  the  difficulties  with  which  they  are  sur- 
rounded, is  still  a  very  dark  dispensation.  There  is 
danger  of  its  dividing  or  being  a  stumbling-block  to 
those  who  have  been  opposing  the  New  Testimony, 
and  it  may  tend  greatly  to  mislead  the  body  of  pro- 
fessors. We  have  much  need  to  look  for  Divine  di- 
rection, and  to  take  heed  to  our  steps,  lest  the  lame 
be  turned  out  of  the  way.  May  the  cloud  which  is 
dark  on  one  side  be  for  a  light  on  the  other  to  all  the 
fearers  of  the  Lord.  Requesting  your  prayers,  and 
wishing  you  Divine  countenance  in  your  important 
labours,  I  am,  dear  father,  yours  ever, 

"Tho.  M'Crie." 

The  fear  expressed  in  the  concluding  part  of  this 


PROGRESS  OF  MATTERS  IN  SYNOD.  Vo 

letter  was  far  from  being  unfounded.  The  "new- 
light  principle,"  that  seed  which  involved  a  radical 
departure  from  the  profession  formerly  espoused  by 
Seceders,  on  the  question  of  the  connexion  between 
church  and  state,  and  which  admitted  of  being  ex- 
panded into  the  great  tree  of  Voluntaryism,  was,  as 
we  have  seen,  already  planted  in  the  profession  of  the 
General  Synod.  But  these  disavowals  of  its  practi- 
cal consequences,  however  inconsistent  they  were 
with  that  principle,  served  the  purpose  of  hoodwink- 
ing a  great,  number  of  the  common  people,  who  are 
rarely  qualified  to  judge  of  an  abstract  principle,  and 
of  satisfying  some  good  men,  who  were  glad  of  an 
apology  for  compliance  with  the  change  which  had 
been  effected;  while,  at  the  same  time,  they  furnished 
a  handle  against  the  protesters,  which  some  were  not 
slow  to  improve,  by  representing  them  as  a  set  of 
impracticable  zealots,  who  were  standing  out  for 
theoretical  trifles,  and  were  charging  the  Synod  with 
being  actuated  by  motives,  and  aiming  at  objects, 
which  ihey  solemnly  disclaimed. 

Though  well  aware  of  the  construction  which 
would  be  put  on  their  conduct,  the  protesters,  avail- 
ing themselves  of  every  legal  formality,  continued  to 
remonstrate  against  the  introduction  of  the  new  terms 
of  communion  at  every  step.  In  September  1803, 
Messrs.  Whytock,  Aitken  and  M'Crie,  tendered  a 
formal  protestation,  which  was  afterwards  adhered  to 
by  Messrs  Bruce,  Chalmers  and  Hogg,  in  which  they 
say,  "  Though  by  no  means  averse  to  an  adapting  of 
our  Testimony  to  the  present  times,  and  though  ap- 
proving of  many  things  in  these  acts  (of  the  Synod) 
suitable  to  this  end,  we  find  ourselves  under  the  ne- 
cessity of  protesting  against  them — as  containing,  in 
our  view,  several  things  injurious  to  the  reformation 
cause,  as  being  a  material  departure  from  the  original 
state  of  the  Secession  Testimony,  and  as  altering  the 
terms  of  our  communion.  We  also  hereby  declare 
and  protest,  that  in  our  continuing  in  communion 
with  this  Synod  we  are  to  be  viewed  as  holding  by 


94  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

the  Act,  Declaration  and  Testimony,  with  the  other 
parts  of  our  profession  and  terms  of  communion  as 
stated  by  the  Associate  Presbytery,  and  that  our  con- 
curring in  admitting  persons  to  our  communion,  shall 
be,  as  formerly,  in  the  way  of  receiving  their  adhe- 
rence to  the  foresaid  Testimony.  Finally,  we  protest 
for  liberty  to  exoner  ourselves  in  all  ways  competent 
with  respect  to  these  acts  and  deeds  now  protested 
against,  and  particularly  to  remonstrate  to  this  Synod 
at  their  next  meeting." 

"  Februanj  22,  1804. — Our  brethren  in  the  other 
congregation  have  resolved  to  break  ofi'  the  com- 
munion which  we  had  together  by  the  alternate  dis- 
pensation of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  the  two  congrega- 
tions. They  have  also  resolved  in  their  session  to 
have  the  sacrament  four  times  a  year,  twice  without 
fast-days.  After  their  silent  acquiescence  in  the 
observance  of  the  royal  fast,*  I  expected  nothing 
from  them.  A  little  prudent  management  will  re- 
concile Seceders  now-a-days  almost  to  any  novelty. 
I  have  always  endeavoured  to  think  and  speak  ten- 
derly of  the  conduct  of  those  individuals  in  the  other 
congregation  who  have  declined  to  hold  communion 
with  us,  as  I  was  not  without  suspicion  that  they  had 
cause  of  offence  in  a  number  of  things.  But  when  I 
consider  how  they  have  acted  with  respect  to  other 
matters  of  present  litigation,  I  cannot  help  thinking 
that  their  conduct  is  too  like  that  of  straining  at  a 
gnat  and  swallowing  a  camel.     However,  the  above 

*  "I  hear  that  the  day  of  the  king's  fast  will  be  chosen  by  num- 
bers of  our  congregations  as  a  fast-day,  either  in  place  of  the  day 
appointed  by  the  Synod,  or  before  the  sacrament,  which  many 
have  fixed  for  that  time.  Our  Session  have  agreed  not  to  observe 
thatdayr  (To  Mr.  Bruce,  13th  October,  1803.)  Mr.  M'Crie's  ob- 
jections to  the  observance  of  royal  fasts  were  founded  on  the  im- 
plied assumption  of  an  Erastian  power  by  the  State  to  interfere 
in  matters  "purely  spiritual,  and  which  belonged  to  the  Church. 
The  new  light  party,  with  all  their  horror  at  any  connexion  be- 
tween Church  and  state,  were  not,  it  appears,  so  scrupulous  in 
this  matter. — James  Sharpe,  we  know,  who  turned  traitor  and 
persecutor,  swallowed  the  tender,  acknowledging  the  authority 
of  Cromwell;  James  Guthrie,  who  suffered  for  his  faithfulness, 
refused  it. 


i 


CONDITIONS  IMPOSED  ON  THE  PROTESTERS.       95 

disagreeable  incident  as  to  the  two  congregations 
gives  me  little  concern,  except  in  as  far  as  it  is 
connected  with  matters  of  greater  magnitude,  the 
general  state  of  religion  in  the  body." 

Matters  were  now  fast  hastening  to  a  crisis.  In 
May  1S04,  the  Synod  at  length  enacted  their  Narra- 
tive and  Testimony  into  a  term  of  communion.  By 
dint  of  ringing  the  changes  on  "persecution  for  con- 
science' sake,"  and  at  the  same  time  disavowing  all 
intention  of  relinquishing  the  ancient  profession  of 
Seceders,  the  great  majority  of  the  people  were  pre- 
pared for  the  change.  Liberty  was  the  idol  of  the  day; 
and  though  there  were  not  a  few,  both  among  the 
ministers  and  the  people,  who  scrupled  to  fall  down 
and  worship  it,  yet  these,  feeble  and  irresolute  in 
their  opposition,  were  carried  aJong,  pushed  aside,  or 
trampled  on,  by  the  crowd  which  dragged  along  its 
triumphal  car.*     The  protesters  alone  stood   firm, 

*  The  following  is  a  specimen  of  the  well-disposed  but  faint- 
hearted opposition  to  which  reference  is  made.  It  is  an  extract 
from  a  letter  to  Mr.  M'Crie  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Barlas,  dated 
Crieff,  3d  December,  1804.  "R.  D.  B  , — I  was  favoured  with 
■yours  of  the  2nd  of  October,  and  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for 
being  at  so  much  pains  to  give  me  information  concerning  the 
views  and  proceedings  of  the  remonstrating  brethren.  J^or  some 
time  I  have  been  anxious  to  know  iiow  far  the  other  brethren 
who  object  to  the  New  Testimony  and  Narrative  and  I.  are  agreed 
in  our  sentiments  about  them,  and  it  gives  me  much  satisfaction 
to  see  by  the  remonstrance  that  our  sentiments  are  nearly  the 
same.  There  are  several  things  in  it  objected  to,  which  did  not 
strike  me  when  reading  the  Testimony  and  Narrative,  such  as 
covenanting  being  restricted  to  those  who  bear  the  character  of 
Church  members,  and  no  certain  sound  being  given  concerning 
establishments  of  religion;  but  now  upon  considering  the  rea- 
soning in  tlie  remonstrance  on  these  points,  it  appears  to  me, 
that  according  to  what  the  Synod  have  asserted,  it  is  inconsisent 
for  them  any  longer  to  acknowledge  either  the  National  Cove- 
nant, or  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  and  that  they  must 
he  vietved  as  disapproving  of  all  religious  cslnblishments,  the  best 
OS  well  as  the  loorst.  In  other  things  remonstrated  against,  I  ob- 
serve that  though  the  brethren  argue  in  another  and  more  con- 
vincing manner  than  I  was  capable  of,  our  views  are  the  same.  I 
am  very  much  troubled  about  the  intended  ratification  of  the 
Testimony  at  next  Synod  by  the  new  form  of  covenanting,  but 
am  at  a  loss  to  say  if  any  step  should  be  taken  to  disapprove  of 
it.     My  increasing  frailty  and  incapacity  for  acting,  which  in  all 


96  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CniE. 

renewing  their  protest  against  the  principle  which 
remained  unrelinquished,  although  "some  of  the 
most  glaring  and  exceptional)le  passages  were  ex- 
punged or  altered."  The  Synod,  anxious,  periiaps, 
to  prevent  a  rupture  which  they  had  now  rendered 
inevitable,  granted  them  liberty  to  retain  their  pecu- 
liar views,  and  receive  into  their  communion  such  as 
"might  better  understand  and  approve  of  the  former 
statement  of  their  principles;"  but  this  favour  was 
vouchsafed  only  on  the  conditions,  that  they  should 
be  bound  to  admit  all  who  declared  their  preference 
for  the  New  Testimony — that  they  "  should  not, 
either  from  the  pulpit  or  the  press,  impugn  or  oppose 
our  principles  as  stated  by  the  Synod," — and  that 
they  "should  conduct  themselves,  as  they  had  done 
hitherto,  in  attending  Church  Courts,  and  assisting 
their  brethren  on  sacramental  occasions."  With  such 
conditions,  as  may  be  readily  conceived,  the  protes- 
ters could  not  comply.  The  liberty  of  admitting 
members  on  the  old  principles  was  fairl}^  neutralized 
by  the  necessity  of  admitting  others  on  the  principles 
which  they  condemned;  and  to  submit  to  be  tied  up 
from  testifying,"  either  from  the  pulpit  or  the  press," 
in  favour  of  the  profession  which  they  had  become 
bound  to  support  at  their  ordination,  was  a  course 
which  neither  conscience  nor  consistency  could  per- 
mit them  to  adopt.  The  toleration  proposed  was 
absurd  in  principle,  and  would  have  been  found  im- 
practicable in  administration.  Had  the  dissentients 
yielded  to  sucii  a  measure,  they  would  have  consented 
to  the  wilhdrawment  of  all  judicial  authority  from 
the  principles  which  had  been  called  in  question,  and 
bartered  the  very  existence  of  the  original  profession 
for  a  mean  and  uncertain  prolongation  of  their  own 
existence  in  a  mongrel  fellowship.  The  events  which 
the  course  of  time  has  since  evolved,  leave  no  room 
to  question,  that  in  adopting  a  different  line,  they 

probnbility  will  soon  lay  me  aside  from  public  work,  make  mo 
I'requently  think  that  what  is  competent  to  me  is,  to  adhere  firmly 
to  my  former  principles,  and  be  only  a  silent  observer." 


PERPLEXITIES.  97 

consulted  the  honour  of  truth  and  followed  the  road 
of  duty.  When  we  consider  the  undue  restraints 
which  these  conditions  imposed  on  their  ministerial 
liberty,  it  is  diflficult  to  see  wherein  "  the  lenity  and 
forbearance  of  the  Synod  towards  the  protesting 
brethren,"  which  has  been  so  highly  praised,  mani- 
fested itself;  unless  we  are  to  rank  under  these  virtues, 
the  fact  of  the  Synod  having  permitted  them  hitherto 
to  exercise,  without  censure,  their  constitutional  privi- 
lege of  protesting  and  remonstrating  in  the  Church 
Courts,  which  had  now  become  as  superfluous  as  it 
had  been  unavailing.  With  the  last  condition,  re- 
quiring their  attendance  on  Church  Courts  and  assist- 
ing their  brethren  at  communions,  the  Synod  had 
now  rendered  compliance  equally  impracticable.  The 
protesters  could  do  neither,  without  compromising 
the  principles  for  which  they  had  all  along  contended, 
and  countenancing  the  enforcement  of  the  acts  against 
which  they  had  protested. 

Tiie  perplexities  into  which  Mr.  M'Crie  and  his 
brethren  were  thrown  by  these  enactments,  were 
manifold.  They  were  greatly  at  a  loss  how  to  act 
with  regard  to  their  congregations.  The  people,  in 
general,  were  totally  unconscious  of  the  change  which 
had  been  effected  on  the  Constitution  of  the  Synod, 
or  of  the  grounds  on  which  it  had  been  opposed. 
Nothing  had  as  yet  been  published  by  the  protesters 
on  the  subject;  anfl  with  a  feeling  of  delicacy,  rarely 
exemplified,  they  had  never  introduced  the  litigated 
points  into  the  pulpit.  "As  to  pulpit  declarations," 
says  Mr.  M'Crie,  writing  to  Mr.  Aitken,  9th  March 
1S04,  "I  know  of  none  that  the  brethren  here  (the 
professor  excepted)  have  given.  I  have  never  ex 
professo  introduced  the  subject.  Few  of  the  people 
about  this  place  have  any  apprehension  that  things 
are  wrong.  I  am  sorry  to  see  brethren,  for  many  of 
whom  I  entertain  a  high  respect,  acting  a  part  which 
1  cannot  but  look  upon  as  deceitful  and  inconsistent." 
"  The  more  I  think  of  the  state  of  matters,"  he  writes 
to  Mr.  Bruce,  12th  June  1805,  "1  am  the  more  fully 
9 


98  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

convinced  that  it  is  high  time  to  give  a  public  state- 
ment of  the  grounds  of  our  opposition.  If  it  be 
delayed  much  longer,  it  will  come  too  late.  The 
people  will  be  gained  over  unto  or  fixed  in  the  new 
sentiments,  and  some  of  those  who  have  appeared 
against  them  will  fall  off.  I  believe  that  the  great 
thing  that  the  leaders  in  Synod  now  want  is  a  respite 
to  enable  them  fully  to  establish  the  new  system. 
Mr.  TurnbuU  (of  Glasgow)  wishes  to  know  the  judg- 
ment of  brethren  as  to  his  publication,  I  should  like 
much  to  see  it;  only  could  have  wished  that  the  brief 
statement  of  which  you  spoke  had  preceded  it.  You 
know  Mr.  T.'s  peculiar  mode  of  writing,  which  I  am 
afraid  would  not  be  very  intelligible  in  many  things, 
nor  palatable  to  many  at  present." 

Another  source  of  distress   was  the  prospect  of 
breaking  up  that  kindly  fellowship  which  had  sub- 
sisted between  him  and  his  brethren  in  the  ministry. 
It  was  long  before  he  could  prevail  on  himself  to  re- 
sign the  pleasures  of  an  intercourse  which  his  con- 
science would  no  longer  permit  him  to  enjoy.     He 
writes  in  March  1806,  "As  to  our  conduct  in  respect 
to  communion  here  for  some  time  back,  I  am  not 
disposed  altogether  to  vindicate  it.     I  feel  I  am  not 
in  a  right  state,  and  am  often  uneasy,  I  mean  in  point 
of  conscience;  for  in  another  point  of  view,  as  to 
alienation   between   brethren  and   me,  this  has  not 
obtained  to  a  very  great  degree."     His  trials  in  this 
.  respect  were  considerably  aggravated  by  the  death  of 
his  friend  Mr.  Whytock,  who  was  suddenly  "taken 
away  from  the  evil  to  come,"  by  a  stroke  of  apoplexy 
on  the  24th  of  October  1S05.     "This  providence," 
he  writes,  "  has  been  very  afflicting  to  me,  from  the 
intercourse  I  had  with  him,  and  the  impression  which 
his  friendly  offices  and  counsels  had  made  upon  me. 
But  "What  shall  I  say?     He  himself  hath  done  it." 
The  Lord  seems  to  be  trying  us  by  dark  dispensa- 
tions.    He  is  diminishing  our  number  (we  thought  it 
sufficiently  small)  to  make  us  look  to  Himself,  and 
cleave  more  closely  to  one  another.     0  that  this  were 
the  effect !" 


FINAL  PROTESTATION  OF  THE  FOUR  BRETHREN.  99 

This  state  of  matters  could  not  last  long.  "  It  is 
certainly  of  great  consequence,"  he  says,  April  9, 
1806,  "that  our  minds  be  made  Uj3  as  to  the  step  to 
be  taken  at  the  next  meeting  of  Synod,  which  now 
approaches.  The  crisis  seems  to  be  come.  We  are 
certainly  called  upon  decidedly  to  reject  the  new 
■terms  of  communion,  and  to  take  up  ground  which 
will  give  us  liberty  to  make  such  appearances  in  be- 
half of  our  principles,  as  the  exigency  may  demand. 
Much  depends  upon  our  being  directed  to  the  proper 
step:  never  more  need  for  looking  to  the  Wonderful 
Counsellor."  Accordingly,  at  the  meeting  of  Synod 
in  May  1806,«the  protesters,  now  reduced  to  four, 
viz.  Messrs.  Bruce,  Aitken,  Hogg  and  M'Crie,  took  a 
more  decided  step,  and  jointly  presented  a  paper,  in 
which  they  say,  "That  finding  no  longer  access  to 
continue  judicial  contendings  with  the  Synod,  nor 
any  hopes  left  of  their  being  allowed  to  retain  their 
former  profession  entire,  or  of  enjoying  ministerial 
freedom  in  co-operation  wiih  the  General  Synod  and 
inferior  judicatories,  as  now  constituted,  according 
to  the  terms  enacted  and  tlie  restrictions  attempted 
to  be  imposed  on  protesting  ministers  last  year,  they 
are  constrained  (though  without  any  prospect  of  be- 
ing able  to  maintain  a  successful  opposition,  in  the 
present  state  of  things,  to  the  torrent  that  is  carrying 
along  the  large  body  of  Seceders  throughout  the  land) 
once  more  to  declare  and  protest,  in  their  own  name, 
and  in  tlie  name  of  all  who  may  still  be  disposed  to 
adhere  to  their  former  profession  and  engagements, 
that  they  shall  hold  themselves  free  from  any  obliga- 
tion to  comply  with  these  innovating  acts;  that  they 
shall  account  every  attempt  by  the  Synod,  or  any  in 
subjection  to  it,  to  compel  them  to  conformity  to  the 
new  system  and  constitution  to  be  unwarrantable; 
that,  in  the  present  state  of  exclusion  into  which  they 
have  been  driven  by  the  prevailing  party  in  Synod, 
(which  they  wish  may  be  but  temporary  and  short,) 
they  shall  be  at  liberty  to  maintain  their  former  tes- 
timony and  communion    as   formerly   stated,   with 


100  LIFE   OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

ministers  and  people,  as  Providence  may  give  them 
opportunity;  and  that  in  endeavouring  to  do  this, 
they  must  consider  themselves  as  possessing  a  full 
right  to  the  exercise  of  ministerial  or  judicative 
powers,  according  as  they  may  have  a  call,  or  may 
think  it  conducive  to  the  ends  of  edification  to  use 
that  right,  and  that  notwithstanding  of  any  censure 
or  sentence  the  Synod  may  see  meet  to  pass  to  the 
contrary,  on  account  of  the  part  they  have  been 
obliged  to  act  in  this  cause."* 

This  paper,  which  was  received  by  the  Synod 
without  any  objections,  placed  the  protesters  in  very 
peculiar  circumstances.  Their  relaticfn  to  the  Synod, 
as  constituted  on  the  new  deeds,  was  virtually  dis- 
solved; they  considered  themselves  "secluded  from 
all  communion"  with  it,  and  consequently  declined 
its  jurisdiction,  so  long  as  it  was  thus  constituted. 
Anxious  to  try  every  method  to  prevent  a  breach, 
they  were  still  ready  to  yield  all  due  subordination 
to  the  supreme  court,  according  to  their  ordination 
vows.  But  considering  that  the  Synod  had  left  them 
standing  on  the  original  constitution  of  the  Society, 
had  adopted  an  entirely  new  system  of  principles, 
contrary  to  these  vows,  and,  by  engaging  in  the 
work  of  covenanting  on  the  ground  of  these  princi- 
ples, had  renounced  their  former  profession  with 
all  the  solemnity  of  an  oath,  the  protesting  brethren 
regarded  themselves  as  no  longer  under  the  authority 
of  the  General  Synod  as  thus  constituted,  and  viewed 
themselves  at  liberty  to  act  as  if  no  such  body  ex- 
isted. 

The  subsequent  steps  taken  by  the  protesters  will 
appear  from  the  following  correspondence: — 

Mr.  M'Crie  to  Mr.  Bruce. 

"June  18,  1806. — The  immediate  purpose  of  my 

writing  you  is  to  give  you  an  account  of  matters  in 

the  congregation  which  appear  to  be  coming  to  a 

crisis,  and  ask  your  advice.     On  a  Sabbath  afternoon, 

*  Paper  in  Statement  of  the  Difference,  &c.,  p.  ^23— 228. 


STATE  OF  HIS  CONGKEGATION.  101 

about  three  weeks  ago,  I  reckoned  it  necessary  to 
give  a  public  declaration  respecting  the  grounds  of 
our  opposition  to  the  late  measures  of  the  Synod, 
chiefly  in  the  way  of  stating  a  few  facts  as  to  the 
difference  between  the  former  and  present  profes- 
sion.* At  a  meeting  of  Session  after  that,  a  very  great 
desire  was  testified  that  the  Session  should  declare 
their  adherence  to  the  Synod  and  to  the  New  Testi- 
mony. The  motion  was  delayed  only  with  the  view 
of  being  revived  at  next  meeting,  and  there  is  no 
doubt  of  its  carrying,  as  the  most  of  the  members  of 
Session  are  determinedly  of  the  Synod's  sentiments. 
They  have  also  been  complaining  that  a  meeting  of 
the  congregation  has  not  been  called,  with  the  view 
of  their  declaring  themselves.  I  have  had  no  free- 
dom to  use  any  private  means  for  counteracting  these 
measures,  nor  to  encourage  any  counter-petitions, 
although  a  goodly  number  of  the  congregation  are 
attached  to  the  original  principles.  The  only  thing 
I  wish  is,  to  know  how  I  shall  act  when  matters  are 
come  to  a  crisis.  Will  you  be  so  good  as  to  advise 
me  on  the  following  points? 

"In  what  manner  shall  I  conduct  myself  in  the 
Session  when  they  come  to  vote  their  adherence  to 
the  Synod  and  the  New  Testimony?  I  am  satisfied 
that  I  cannot  continue  to  hold  session  with  them 
after  such  a  declaration,  adopting  fully  the  new  prin- 
ciples, after  all  I  have  been  doing  against  them,  and 
after  1  have  been  obliged  to  leave  the  S^^od  on  ac- 
count of  their  determined  adherence  to  them.  The 
only  thing  I  am  at  a  loss  about  is,  how  I  should  act 
before  they  put  the  vote. — Again,  in  what  manner 
should  I  act  if  the  majority  of  the  congregation,  at 
a  congregational  meeting  which  will  soon  be  held, 
siiould  declare  that  they  adhere  to  the  Synod,  accoi'd- 
ing  to  the  late  statement  of  their  principles  ?  Can 
I  continue  to  dispense  ordinances  to  them,  or  will  it 
be  incumbent  on  me  to  withdraw  together  with  any 

*  See  Appendix, 

9* 


102  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

that  may  be  disposed  to  adhere  to  the  cause  of  Christ, 
agreeably  to  our  protestation?  Would  there  be  any 
propriety  in  my  attending  the  congregational  meet- 
ing, or  letting  them  know,  previously  to  such  a  vote, 
what  I  will  reckon  incumbent  upon  me? 

"I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  kind  sympathy 
on  this  occasion.  Through  your  prayers,  with  those 
of  other  brethren,  and  the  supply  of  the  Spirit  of 
Christ,  I  trust  I  shall  be  upheld,  and  made  in  some 
measure  faithful  in  the  present  contest.  The  break- 
ing of  the  congregation  was  long  a  matter  of  bitter 
concern  to  me;  but  I  have  endeavoured  to  cast  it 
wholly  upon  the  Lord.  Though  '  my  bowels  are  often 
troubled  within  me,'  and  my  spirits  dejected,  I  can  yet 
say,  'Perplexed,  but  not  in  despair;  cast  down,  but 
not  destroyed.'  '  There  hath  no  temptation  taken 
you  but  such  as  is  common  to  man:  but  God  is  faith- 
ful, who  will  not  suffer  you  to  be  tempted  above  that 
ye  are  able;  but  will  with  the  temptation  also  make 
a  way  of  escape,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  bear  it.'" 

In  reply  Mr.  Bruce  says,  "  it  is  with  concern  that 
I  sit  down  to  write  an  answer  in  the  painful  circum- 
stances of  the  case,  though  they  are  such  as  might 
have  been  expected,  sooner  or  later,  as  times  go.  My 
concern  is  excited  more  on  account  of  the  blinded 
people,  than  on  your  account;  for  I  hope  that  you 
will  find  that  there  is  a  degree  of  heart-felt  peace,  not 
to  be  shaken  by  such  events,  in  singly  cleaving  to  the 
Lord,  anck^suffering  for  righteousness'  sake.  No 
doubt  the  mought  of  breaking  the  harmony  of  a  con- 
gregation, otherwise  united,  and  wearing  so  very  pro- 
mising an  appearance,  must  have  caused  you  great 
uneasiness;  but  those  things  which  are  unavoidable 
in  the  prosecution  of  the  course  of  duty,  we  must  be 
ready  to  bear  with  resignation.  How  to  act  in  such 
a  new  and  trying  situation,  requires  greater  grace  and 
wisdom  than  any  of  us  possess,  and  better  counsel 
than  any  on  earth  can  give.  But  may  not  this  be  one 
of  those  cases,  in  which  you  may  expect,  in  some 
measure,  a  verification  of  the  promise  our  Lord  made 


HE  IS  CITED  BY  THE  SYNOD.  103 

to  his  disciples,  'It  shall  be  given  you  in  that  hour 
what  ye  shall  speak.'     I  humbly  think  that  there  is 
no  reason  for  attempting  to  prevent  either  session  or 
congregation  from  declaring  liiemselves,  in  the  most 
formal  manner,  on  the  public  crisis  that  has  arisen." 
He  then  proceeds  to  advise  him  on  the  most  proper 
method  of  ascertaining  the  sentiments  of  the  people. 
To  the  Rev.  Arch.  Bruce,— Jwwe  27,  1806. 
"  R.  D.  F., — I  received  your  favour  yesterday,  and 
am  much  obliged  to  j^ou  for  the  full  directions  which 
it  contains.    I  have  to  inform  you  that  the  Presbytery 
of  Edinburgh  met  on  Tuesday  last,  and  agreed  that 
you  and  I  should  be  cited  to  attend  their  next  meet- 
ing on  the  22d  of  July.     I  have  not  yet  received  the 
citation,  but  hear  that  it  proceeds  on  two  grounds, — 
our  not  attending  meetings  of  Presbytery,  although 
in  good  health,  and  our  having  made  declarations  to 
our  people  in  opposition  to  the  principles  exhibited 
by  the  ^nod,  and  tending  to  produce  schism  in  the 
body.     I  scarcely  thought  they  would  have  been  so 
fast,  but  suppose  that  their  object  is  to  get  the  affair 
fully  before  the  Synod  at  Glasgow  in  August,  by  re- 
ferring the  cause,  and  summoning  us  to  attend.    I  am 
pleased  that  they  are  taking  these  steps,  as  it  shows 
what  we  may  expect,  and  will  sooner  and  most  easily 
disentangle  us  from  the  various  embarrassments.     1 
will  expect  that  )'ou  will  write  me,  after  receiving 
the  citation,  in  what  general  terms  an  answer  should 
be  returned  to  it.     Perhaps,  as  the  Presbytery  have 
taken  up  the  business,  our  elders  may  not  judge  it 
necessary  to  prosecute  it  so  fast  as  they  proposed — 
not  that  I  was  averse,  for  my  own  part,  to  the  early 
decision  of  the  matter.     I  do  not  doubt  that  there 
will  be   still    a    competent   number  to  support  the 
standard  in  Edinburgh.     As  to  the  possession  of  the 
[meeting]  house,  I  am  not  in  the  least  anxious  to 
retain  it.     I  have  even  thought  that  perhaps  Provi- 
dence intended  the  dissolution  of  the  congregational 
state,  and  our  removal  from  the  house,  to  set  aside 
the  stumblins:  which  it  has  occasioned  to  some  friends 


104  LIFE   OF  DR.   M'CRIE. 

of  the  cause  not  connected  with  the  congregation. 
But  I  would  wisli  to  leave  this  entirely  to  another's 
management.  Whatever  may  happen,  I  am  fully 
satisfied  of  the  propriety  and  necessity  of  the  appear- 
ance we  are  making,  and  particularly  of  the  step 
taken  at  last  meeting  [of  Synod.]  But  I  must  have 
done,  assuring  you  that  I  am,  very  dear  father,  ever 
yours,,.  Tho.  M'Crie." 

To  Mr.  Aitken  he  writes: 

'^July  10,  1806. — The  Professor  and  I  have  each 
received  a  citation  in  form  to  attend  the  Presbytery. 
I  mean  not  to  compear,  as  1  cannot  in  consistency 
with  the  step  lately  taken,  but  intend  to  return  some 
answer  by  letter.  I  suppose  the  design  of  this 
measure  is  to  get  us  regularly  cited  to  the  August 
Synod." 

"When  it  is  determined  to  sacrifice  the  victim," 
says  the  old  proverb,  "it  is  not  difficult  |p  find  a 
stick  in  the  forest  to  despatch  it  with."  And  when 
a  church  is  bent  on  introducing  a  change  into  its 
profession,  it  will  go  hard  if  they  do  not  find  some- 
thing in  the  conduct  of  the  protesting  minority  which 
shall  afford  a  plausible  pretext  for  condemning  them, 
and  resting  their  condemnation,  not  on  the  cause  in 
dispute,  but  on  some  informalities  or  disorderly  tactics 
in  their  mode  of  prosecuting  it.  This  was  remark- 
ably exemplified  in  the  present  case.  The  real  point 
in  dispute  was  unquestionably  the  New  Testimony, 
which  the  protesting  brethren  had  declared  to  be,  in 
their  judgment  and  conscience,  inconsistent  with 
Scripture,  with  the  original  principles  of  the  Refor- 
mation and  Secession,  and  with  their  own  ordination 
vows.  These  protests  and  representations  had  been 
tabled  for  many  years  before  the  Synod,  without  in- 
curring any  censure;  but  no  sooner  do  the  protesters 
begin  to  act  upon  them,  and  to  explain  to  their  peo- 
ple the  ground  on  which  they  stood,  than  they  are 
charged  with  following  schismatical  and  divisive 
courses.     The  prevailing  party  in  the  Synod  first 


THE  PROTESTERS  CONSTITUTE  A  PRESBYTERY.  105 

expel  them  from  their  communion,  by  imposing  a 
new  set  of  terms  to  which  they  could  not  conscien- 
tiously submit;  and  then,  summoning  them  to  their 
bar,  they  proceed  against  them  as  contumacious  of- 
fenders. The  truth  is,  the  protesters  had  been 
placed,  by  the  enactment  of  the  new  deeds,  in  such 
circumstances,  that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to 
act  a  conscientious  part,  without  exposing  them- 
selves to  what  amounted,  in  the  eyes  of  the  Synod, 
to  the  charge  of  schism;  and  they  were  soon  driven, 
by  the  necessity  of  following  out  their  protest,  to 
adopt  steps  which  furnished  a  pretext  for  passing 
against  them  the  highest  censures  which  can  be  in- 
flicted on  ministers  of  the  Gospel. 

On  the  2Sth  August  1806,  while  the  General  Synod 
was  sitting  in  Glasgow,  Messrs.  Bruce,  Aitken,  Hogg, 
and  M'Crie,  "  being  in  Providence  convened  together 
at  Whitburn,"  on  a  sacramental  occasion,  and  taking 
into  serious  consideration  the  circumstances  in  which 
they  were  placed,  after  some  time  spent  in  solemn 
prayer  for  divine  direction,  constituted  themselves 
into  a  Presbytery.  Before  they  met  on  this  occasion, 
none  of  them  had  contemplated  such  a  step.  I  find  Mr. 
Aitken  recommending  a  meeting  after  the  first  Sab- 
bath  of  September,  which  he  thinks  "would  answer 
better,  as  they  would  know  by  that  time  what  the 
Synod  had  done,  and  could  take  what  steps  would  be 
necessary."*  But  on  consulting  together,  they  saw 
no  good  reason  for  delay.  The  expediency  of  such 
a  step  at  the  time  chosen  for  it,  may,  perhaps,  be 
doubted  even  by  those  who  consider  that  they  were 
perfectly  entitled,  in  point  of  principle,  to  adopt  it. 
And  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  circumstance  of 
their  having  constituted  themselves  into  a  separate 
court,  while  the  Synod  was  sitting,  hastened  the  ec- 
clesiastical censures  which  were  passed  against  them, 
and  furnished  a  plausible  plea  in  the  legal  proceedings 

*  "  Tlie  truth  is,  not  one  of  the  constituent  members  knew  in 
the  morning  when  he  arose,  whether  such  an  event  was  to  take 
place  that  day,  or  at  that  time,  but  the  probability  seemed  rather 
to  be  on  the  other  side." — Bruce's  Revicto  of  the  Proceedings  of 
Synod,  p.  72. 


lOG  LIFE  OF  DR.  M^CRIE. 

which  ensued.  These  consequences,  however,  the 
protesters  were  determined,  should  not  prevent  them 
from  discharging  their  duty.  Despairing  of  any 
prospect  of  return  on  the  part  of  the  Synod  to  their 
original  ground,  regretting  the  time  which  they  had 
already  lost  in  fruitless  negotiations  with  the  courts, 
and  persuaded  that  the  season  had  come  for  making 
a  public  appearance  in  behalf  of  the  principles  of  the 
Secession;  they  embraced  the  opportunity  of  having 
met  together,  which,  owing  to  their  distance  from 
each  other,  they  seldom  enjoyed,  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  right,  which  they  had  formally  claimed,  of  as- 
sociating together  in  a  judicial  capacity. 

In  their  Deed  of  Constitution,  they  declare,  that 
"  finding  themselves  virtually  secluded  from  minis- 
terial and  Christian  communion,  while  they  could 
not,  with  a  good  conscience,  and  consistently  with 
the  vows  which  they  were  presently  under,  comply 
Avith  the  new  terms,  nor  concur  with  their  brethren 
in  carrying  them  into  execution,  or  in  administrations 
wherein  an  approbation  of  them  is  necessarily  im- 
plied; and  at  the  same  time,  having  protested  in 
their  own  name,  and  in  the  name  of  all  who  should 
adhere  to  them,  that,  in  this  state  of  seclusion  and 
separation  to  which  they  were  reluctantly  driven,  it 
should  be  warrantable  for  them  to  maintain  com- 
munion with  such  ministers  and  people  as  might 
still  be  disposed  to  adhere  to  their  former  profession, 
on  the  terms  settled  in  the  Associate  Body  from  the 
beginning;  and  that  they  sliould  have  a  right,  as 
they  might  have  a  call  to  exercise  all  the  parts  of 
their  ministerial  office,  individually,  or  in  a  judicative 
capacity,  in  support  of  their  common  profession, 
without  any  regard  to  these  innovating  acts;  and 
that  they  should  not  be  responsible  to  the  Synod, 
or  inferior  judicatories,  as  presently  constituted  and 
acting  according  to  these  deeds,  but  would  hold  any 
censures  as  null  and  void  that  might  be  pronounced 
against  them  by  these  judicatories,  for  their  conduct 
in  this  matter;  while  acting  according  to   Presby- 


THE  SYNOD  TAKES  THE  ALARM.  107 

terian  principles  and  their  ordination  vows,  &c.,  it 
was  unanimously  agreed  and  resolved,  That  as  lliey 
had  a  right,  and  appeared  to  have  a  call,  they  should 
presently  proceed  to  constitute.'''*  The  Preshy  tery,  thus 
constituted,  afterwards  assumed  the  name  of  the 
Constitutional  Associate  Presbytery. 

Meanwhile  the  Synod,  unconscious  of  what  was 
passing  at  Whitburn,  had,  on  the  28th  of  August, 
the  very  day  on  which  the  Presbytery  was  consti- 
tuted, deposed  Mr.  Aitken,  on  the  alleged  ground  of 
his  having  followed  a  "disorderly  and  schismatical 
course,"  Mr.  Aitken  had  rendered  himself  particu- 
larly obnoxious  to  the  leading  members  of  Synod, 
by  having  taken  a  more  active  part  than  the  rest  of 
his  brethren  in  opposing  the  new  measures,  and  his 
crime  was  considered  as  aggravated  by  his  receiving 
into  communion  persons  belonging  to  other  con- 
gregations, upon  the  old  terms,  which  he  conceived 
he  was  warranted  to  do  by  the  protest  so  often  al- 
luded to.  The  cases  of  Messrs.  Bruce  and  M'Crie 
were  then  taken  up,  and  it  was  at  first  agreed  that 
they  should  be  deferred  until  next  meeting  of  Sy- 
nod. But  an  incident  occurred  which  speedily  al- 
tered this  determination. 

Though  the  protesters  had  publicly  disclaimed 
connexion  with  the  Synod  as  it  was  now  constituted, 
and  consequently  held  all  the  censures  it  might  pass 
on  them  null  and  void,  yet,  aware  of  the  use  which 
might  be  made  of  the  fact  of  their  having  consti- 
tuted  at  Whitburn,  and  unwilling  to  afford  their  op- 
ponents farther  ground  for  disturbing  the  peace  of 
their  congregations,  and  proceeding  to  those  extre- 
mities to  which  they  appeared  already  too  much  in- 

*  The  Deed  by  which  the  Protesting  ministers  constituted 
themselves  into  a  presbytery,  with  the  Reasons,"  is  append- 
ed to  the  Statement.  At  a  subsequent  meeting,  in  November 
180(),  "  they  think  it  not  improper  to  join  tlie  term  Constitutional 
with  that  of  Associate;  as  this  also  may  serve  to  express  their 
adherence  to  the  true  Constitution  of  the  Reformed  Church  of 
Scotland,  as  stated  in  her  Standards  and  Reformation  Acts,  and 
to  the  original  Constitution  of  the  Associate  Presbytery  aud 
Synod.' 


108  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

clined,  they  did  not  consider  it  prudent  to  make 
a  public  announcement  of  their  meeting,  till  they 
could  publish  the  reasons  which  had  led  them  to 
adopt  that  step.  But  as  they  did  not  affect  any  se- 
crecy in  the  transaction,  one  of  them  informed  a 
friend,  in  passing  through  Edinburgh,  of  what  had 
been  done ;  and  by  this  means,  the  intelligence 
reached  Glasgow  while  the  Synod  was  still  sitting. 
Orders  were  immediately  transmitted  to  ascertain  the 
fact,  and  on  Sabbath  following,  Mr.  M'Crie,  in  reply 
to  a  question  put  by  some  of  his  elders,  frankly  in- 
formed them  of  the  truth.* 

Upon  this  a  deputation  of  them  was  immediately 
despatched  to  Glasgow  with  the  alarming  intelli- 
gence. On  obtaining  this  piece  of  information,  the 
Synod,  filled  with  indignation  at  what  they  regard- 
ed as  an  overt  act  of  rebellion,  instantly  resumed  the 
case  of  Mr.  M'Crie,  and  on  the  faith  of  this  vague 
representation,  without  the  formalities  of  a  legal 
process,  on  Tuesday  the  2d  of  September,  they  passed 
on  him  the  sentence  of  deposition  and  excommu- 
nication.t 

*"  As  a  minister"  (says  Mr.  Bruce)  "is  not  subjected  to  the 
judgment  of  a  Session,  in  the  execution  of  his  ministerial  office, 
their  expiscating  inquiries,  with  an  evident  design  to  criminate, 
miglit  justly  have  been  evaded,  or  repelled  as  premature  and 
impertinent:  but  the  candour  of  their  minister,  and  the  conscious 
sense  of  duty  in  the  transaction  referred  to,  which  neither  he 
nor  any  of  his  brethren  surely  ever  meant  to  keep  a  secret,  or 
were  ashamed  to  declare,  when  they  had  a  proper  call  to  do  so, 
kept  him  from  using  his  privilege  in  all  its  extent.  It  is  in  a  high 
degree  ridiculous  to  suppose  that  any  possessed  of  common  sense 
would  ever  proceed  to  constitute  a  Presbytery  with  a  view  to 
keep  it  secret.  Though  they  did  not  reckon  it  proper  to  promul- 
gate the  fact,  till  the  minute,  with  reasons,  was  drawn  out,  yet 
they  mentioned  it  to  any  to  whom  they  had  occasion  to  speak  on 
the  general  subject,  and  it  is  false  that  they  ever  laid  the  slightest, 
injunction,  or  insinuated  the  slightest  advice,  to  keep  it  secret." 
— Bruce's  Review,  p.  70-7^. 

t  "  With  respect  to  Mr.  M'Crie,  without  more  ado  now  found 
guilty,  to  use  the  emphatic  language  of  the  letter-writer,"  (an 
anonymous  writer  in  the  Christian  Magazine,  who  had  given 
a  very  garbled  account  of  the  affair,)  ^'forbearance  could  no 
longer  be  tolerated,"  blven  a  Synodical  vote  of  delay,  or  of  longer 
forbearance,  now  became  intolerable,  and  must  be  brushed  away 


HIS  DEPOSITION.  109 

The  following  is  the  tenor  of  the  sentence,  being 
the  same  in  substance  as  that  pronounced  on  the 
rest: — "  Glasgow,  September  2,  1806. — The  General 
Associate  Synod  read  a  paper  from  the  second  con- 
gregation of  Edinburgh,  bearing  that  Mr.  M'Crie, 
minister  of  that  congregation,  acknowledged  to  his 
Session,  that  he  and  his  protesting  brethren  had 
formed  themselves  into  a  Presb37tery,  distinct  and 
separate  from  the  Synod.  Which  said  fact  being 
attested  by  tlie  subscription  of  several  elders,  after 
mature  deliberation,  and  considering  what  is  con- 
tained in  the  minutes  of  this  Synod  in  the  case  of 
Mr.  M'Crie  on  the  29th  ult.,and  the  Synod  also  find- 
ing by  his  acknowledgment  before  his  Session,  as  is 
attested  b}^  six  of  the  members  of  it,  that  he  and  his 
protesting  brethren  had  formed  themselves  into  a 
Presbytery  distinct  and  separate  from  the  Synod:  It 
was  moved  that  the  Synod  either  Depose  or  Suspend 
him.  The  vote  was  therefore  stated,  Depose  or  Sus- 
pend. The  roll  being  called,  and  votes  marked,  it 
carried  Depose.  Therefore,  the  Synod  did,  and  here- 
by do,  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  alone  King  and  Head  of  his  Church, 
Depose  the  said  Thomas  M'Crie  from  the  office  of 
the  holy  ministry,  prohibiting  him  from  all  and  any 
exercise  of  said  ministry  henceforth  in  the  Church. 
And  in  the  same  name,  and  by  the  same  authority, 
they  did,  and  hereby  do,  suspend  him  from  all  com- 
munion with  the  Church  in  sealing  ordinances,  aye 
and  until  he  shall  give  satisfying  evidences  of  his  re- 
pentance." 

The  surprise  and  confusion  into  which  Mr.  M'Crie's 

as  a  cobweb.  Censure — censure,  is  now  the  order  of  the  day, 
since  the  tocsin  of  Edinburgli  lias  sounded  tiie  alarm.  And  that 
the  Synod  might  not  bo  troubled  with  tedious  formalities,  citation 
of  parties,  precognitions,  examination  of  witnesses,  proofs  of  re- 
levancy ;  or  be  detained  for  months  or  years  peihaps,  by  creepintr 
through  the  different  stages,  they  make  short  work  of  it,  and,  all 
at  once,  within  a  k\\  hours,  leap  to  tlie  highest  degree  of  cen- 
sure that  can  be  inflicted  on  a  minister  as  such." — Bruce's  R&- 
vicw,  p.  (i9. 
10 


110  LIFE  OP  DU.   M'CRIE. 

congregation  was  thrown  on  hearing  of  this  sen- 
tence, may  be  easily  conceived.  As  soon  as  the  news 
reached  town,  numbers  of  them,  without  any  pre- 
vious concert,  hastened  to  the  house  of  their  minis- 
ter, to  ascertain  the  truth,  and  express  their  sympa- 
thy with  him  under  the  trying  circumstances.  They 
found  him  composed  and  resigned.  "I  certainly 
looked  for  being  suspended,"  said  he,  pacing  through 
the  room,  which  was  now  nearly  filled, — "  1  hardly 
expected  they  would  have  proceeded  this  length. 
Bul,^'  he  added,  with  the  emphatic  solemnity  which 
marked  his  manner  when  much  affected,  "  what  am 
I,  that  I  should  be  counted  worthy  to  suffer  shame 
for  His  name!" 

When  the  ties  that  bind  a  conscientious  people 
together  are  snapt  asunder,  the  revulsion  is  generally- 
violent  in  proportion  to  the  strictness  with  which 
they  had  been  united.  Mr.  M'Crie's  congregaiion 
being  nearly  equally  divided,  the  first  object  of  con- 
test was  the  possession  of  the  meeting-house.  An 
attempt  was  made  by  the  party  opposed  to  the  mi- 
nister, on  the  week  preceding  his  deposition,  to  obtain 
possession  of  tlie  keys,  which,  however,  on  applica- 
tion being  made  to  the  Sheriff,  were  restored.  On 
the  following  week,  tiiis  party  refused  to  submit  to 
the  decision  of  the  Sheriff,  and  procured  a  suspension 
from  the  Lord  Ordinary.  Mr.  M'Crie's  friends, 
however,  having  made  a  representation  of  their  case, 
his  Lordship  (Woodhouselee)  granted  on  Friday  an 
Interlocutor,  ordering  that  Mr.  M-Crie,  on  the  ground 
of  his  deposition  by  the  Synod,  should  preacli  only 
in  the  forenoon,  and  the  other  party's  minister  in  the 
afternoon,  till  the  question  as  to  the  property  should 
be  decided.*       This  arrangement  accordingly  took 

*  "  This  temporary  arrangement,'  says  Mr.  M'Crie,  "was 
produced  by  a  sliameful  bill  of  suspension,  which  was  given  in 
on  Friday,  without  our  lawyer  having  a  previous  opportunity  of 
seeing  it.  Tliis  stated  that  I  had  for  some  time  past  shown  a 
tendency  to  follow  sciiismatical  practices  ;  that  though  the  Sy- 
nod had  enjoined  me  a  year  ago  to  refrain  from  them,  and  not 
disturb  the  peace  of  the  Church  by  my  doctrine,  I  iiad  persevered 


HIS  DEPOSITIQN.  Ill 

effect,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  Sabbath  following 
(Sept.  7th)  the  sentence  of  Mr.  M'Crie's  deposition 
was  intimated  from  his  own  pulpit,  by  Mr.  Hay 
of  Alyth,  the  minister  appointed  by  the  Synod  for 
that  service. 

The  following  extracts  may  give  some  idea  of 
the  state  of  Mr.  M'Crie's  feelings  during  this  trying 
period. 

"August  30,  1806,  [Saturday.] — During  the  great- 
er part  of  this  forenoon,  I  was  troubled  with  anx- 
iety, lest  the  Synod  should  not  issue  the  business:  it 
was  only  an  hour  before  Mr.  T.  came  that  I  had  re- 
conciled my  mind  to  what  mighl  be  the  event."* 
'^  Jlugusl  31. — It  is  said  that  "the  priests  in  the 
temple  profaned  the  Sabbath  and  were  blameless." 
Will  not  this  be  an  excuse  for  me  writing  you  on 
Sabbath  evening?  1  am  anxious  you  should  know 
the  state  of  matters  which  have  assumed  an  aspect 
which  perhaps  you  did  not  expect."  After  speaking 
of  the  steps  already  mentioned,  he  adds,  "But  the 
Lord  can  overrule  all.  I  do  not  repent  the  step  1 
took  at  Whitburn.  To  have  continued  till  next  Sy- 
nod in  the  situation  in  which  we  were,  was  imprac- 
ticable. This  has  been  the  most  trying  day  I  have 
had.  It  was  eleven  o'clock  last  night  before  1  heard 
of  what  the  Sheriff  had  done."  j-  To  Professor  Bruce 
he  writes,  Wednesday,  f^epl.  3. — "Our  friends  still 
think  they  may  have  the  majority.  I  am  happy  that 
a  competent  number  appear  to  support  the  stand  in 
this  place." — "  Thursday,  September  4. — To-day  1 
have  to  inform  you,  that  on  Tuesday  evening  I 
was  deposed  by  the  Synod,  upon  the  report  of  the 


and  drawn  aside  a  number  of  the  congregation  to  my  schisma 
tical  doctrines,  had  constituted,  &c.,  on  account  of  which  I  hac 


isma- 
id 
been  deposed  by  my  lawful  superiors  unto  whom  I  had  promised 
subjection,  (a  copy  of  the  sentence  of  deposition  was  forwarded 
by  the  Synod  Clerlt,  and  given  in  to  the  civil  court  two  days 
before  I  got  my  extract;)  and  as  I  had  evinced  a  disposition  to 
continue  to  preach,  they  prayed  that  his  Lordship  would  find 
that  1  was  no  longer  their  lawful  pastor,  and  interdict  nie  from 
preaching  in  the  house,  or  disturbing  Mr.  Hay,  or  any  other  mi- 
nister the  Synod  might  send." — To  Professor  Bruce,  Sept.  8,  IbOG. 

*  To  Mr.  Aitken.  t  To  Mr.  Thomas  Grieve. 


112  LIFE   OF  DR.  M^CRIE. 

elders  that  I  had  acknowledged  our  having  consti- 
tuted into  presb3tery.  1  need  not  say  I  require  your 
sympathy  and  prayers." 

"It  seems,"  says  Mr.  Bruce  in  reply,  "a  ruling 
party  in  the  Synod  are  resolved  to  go  tlirough  with 
this  business;  and  the  Lord  is  permitting  them  for 
his  own  holy  ends.  He  is  righteous  in  all  he  sends 
or  may  send  on  us,  though  men  be  unjust.  You  and 
our  brother  (Mr.  Aitken)  have  had  the  honour  con- 
ferred on  you  of  being  foremost  in  enduring  suffer- 
ing in  this  manner  for  Christ's  testimony  in  Scot- 
land in  the  present  contest.  Others,  if  they  live  a 
little  longer,  will  soon  be  joined  with  you  in  this; 
which  we  have  reason  to  take  joyfully.  We  have 
often  spoken  of  the  afflictions  that  come  for  the 
Gospel,  and  even  may  have  been,  especially  of  late, 
looking  forward  to  something  of  this  kind  as  await- 
ing us;  and  we  need  not  think  it  strange,  nor  shrink 
from  them,  when  they  come.  The  loud  report  of 
their  violence,  like  an  alarm  gun,  is  needful  to 
awaken  the  people  from  their  state  of  torpor,  and 
even  that  will  hardly  convince  them  that  there  is 
any  danger  at  hand." 

Mr.  M'Crie  to  Professor  Bruce. 

Edinburgh,  Sth  Sept.  180G. 
"Rev.  and  dear  Father, — I  received  your  ex- 
pected and  welcome  letter,  on  Saturday  evening, 
which  greatly  refreshed  me.  Before  its  arrival  the 
Lord  Ordinary  (Lord  Woodhouselee)  had  passed  an 
Interlocutor,  making  a  temporary  arrangement  as  to 
the  meeting-house,  until  the  right  of  property  should 
be  determined.  His  decision  was  that  I  should  have 
the  house  in  the  forenoon,  and  the  other  party  might 
introduce  their  minister  in  the  afternoon.  Mr.  Goold, 
the  Cameronian  minister,  called  on  Thursday  and 
told  me  that  the  managers  of  their  house,  having 
heard  that  I  was  to  be  excluded  from  my  own  pulpit, 
had  unanimously  agreed  that  I  should  be  welcome 
to  theirs  on  Sabbath  first,  as  they  were  to  be  vacant. 


FIRST  SABBATH    AFTER  r>EPOSITION.  113 

I  accordingly  accepted  it,  and  preached  there  in  the 
afternoon  and  evening.  In  the  forenoon  I  lectured 
on  Psalm  xliv.  17-21;*  in  the  afternoon  preached  on 
Isaiah  liv.  10;t  and  in  the  evening  on  Acts  xxviii. 
20. 1  We  were  well  attended  all  the  day;  in  the 
forenoon  a  great  number  of  strangers  were  collected 
by  the  report  of  the  uncommon  business.  I  have 
reason  of  thankfulness  that  I  was  carried  through. 
In  the  morning  when  I  went  into  the  pulpit,  I  could 
not  help  my  nerves  and  feelings  being  affected,  but 
I  suppose  it  was  scarcely  visible;  it  soon  went  off, 
and  throughout  the  day  1  enjoyed  great  composure. 
During  tlie  afternoon,  I  could  not  help  noticing,  on 
reflection,  that  the  thought  of  what  was  going  on  in 
our  usual  place  of  worship,  did  not  once  intrude  on 
my  mind,  whatever  impression  I  had  of  the  general 
situation  in  which  I  was  placed. — The  affection  and 
sympathy  of  my  people  who  have  remained  steady, 
has  been  very  tender;  and  1  have  the  satisfaction 
of  reflecting  tliat  they  have  all  voluntarily  come  for- 
ward, without  any  private  solicitations  of  mine,  and 
good  reason  to  think,  as  to  the  great  body  of  them, 
that  they  act  from  knowledge  and  attachment  to  the 
cause,  and  not  from  mere  attachment  to  me.  This 
is  a  mums  ahencus§  against  the  false  and  illiberal 
charges  brought  against  me  of  intriguing  and  draw- 
ing away  the  people  in  public  and  private,  which,  I 
understand,  the  Synod  admitted  into  their  minutes, 

**  "  All  this  is  come  on  us ;  yet  have  we  not  forgotten  thee, 
neither  have  we  dealt  falsely  in  thy  covenant.  Our  heart  is  not 
turned  back,  neither  have  our  steps  declined  from  thy  waj' ; 
though  thou  hast  sore  broken  us  in  the  place  of  dragons,  and 
covered  us  with  the  shadow  of  death.  If  we  have  forgotten  the 
name  of  our  God,  or  stretched  out  our  hands  to  a  strange  god, 
shall  not  God  search  this  out?  for  he  knoweth  the  secrets  of  the 
heart." 

t  "  For  the  mountains  shall  depart,  and  the  hills  be  removed ; 
but  my  kindness  shall  not  depart  from  Ihee,  neither  shall  the 
covenant  of  my  peace  be  removed,  saith  the  Lord  that  hath 
mercy  on  thee," 

t  "  For  the  hope  of  Israel  I  am  bound  with  this  chain." 

§  "  A  brasen  wall." — Jer.  xv.  20. 

10* 


114  LIFE  OP  DR.  M^CRIE. 

under  the  name  of  reasons  of  dissent  against  the  deed 
of  the  first  week;  which  the  accusers  did  not  ven- 
ture to  bring  forth  before  the  vote;  and  which  con- 
stituted no  part  of  the  public  charge  or  evidence." 

Before  dismissing  the  congregation  on  the  fore- 
noon of  this  memorable  Sabbath,  Mr.  M'Crie  consi- 
dered it  necessary  to  enter  a  formal  protest  against 
the  sentence  which  had  passed  against  him,  that 
their  withdrawing  to  another  place  of  worship,  in 
compliance  with  the  decision  of  the  civil  court, 
might  not  be  construed  into  "an  approbation  of,  or 
acquiescence  in,  the  work  that  was  to  go  on."  The 
following  extracts  from  the  address  he  delivered 
on  this  occasion  may  be  interesting,  as  showing  the 
grounds  on  which  he  refused  submission  to  the  Sy- 
nodical  censure. 

"Brethren,  it  is  necessary  before  dismissing  you, 
to  say  a  few  things  relative  to  tlie  peculiar  circum- 
stances in  which  we  are  at  present  placed.  You 
may  have  heard  by  report  that  the  General  Synod 
have  last  week  passed  a  sentence  by  which  they 
pretend  to  depose  me  from  the  office  of  the  ministry, 
and  to  dissolve  the  connexion  between  me  and  this 
congregation.  The  determinations  of  church  courts, 
although  they  are  to  be  submitted  to  when  agreeable 
to  the  Word,  are  only  to  be  received  so  far  as  they 
speak  according  to  the  divine  law  and  testimony. 
Their  power  is  for  edification,  not  destruction.  They 
can  do  nothing  against  the  truth,  but  for  the  truth. 
They  may  command  and  straitly  threaten  not  to 
speak  at  all  in  the  name  of  Jesus:  but  whether  it  is 
right  in  the  sight  of  God  to  hearken  unto  them  more 
than  unto  God,  judge  ye. 

"I  consider  this  sentence  as  having  been  passed 
upon  me  for  the  appearances  which  I  have  made  in 
behalf  of  tlie  covenanted  principles  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  and  the  original  Secession  Testimony,  of 
which  I  professed  an  unlimited  approbation  at  my 
ordination,  when  I  was  bound  to  contend  against  all 
the  errors  which  were  opposite  to  it.     Had  the  cen- 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  PEOPLE.  115 

sure  been  inflicted  upon  me  on  personal  grounds,  on 
account  of  immoral  conduct,  or  preaching  doctrines 
opposite  to  tiie  common  profession,  I  would  have 
seen  it  my  duty  to  acquiesce,  even  although  1  had 
been  convinced  that  injustice  was  done  me.  But 
there  is  a  wide  difference  between  a  personal  and  a 
public  cause:  and  it  is  allowed  on  all  hands  that  this 
is  a  cause  entirely  public.  The  duty  that  1  owe  to 
truth,  to  solemn  engagements,  to  the  Church  of  God, 
and  that  part  of  it  with  which  I  am  more  particularly 
concerned,  demand  that  I  should  declare  that  I  hold 
this  sentence  as  not  only  rash  and  harsh,  but  as  un- 
constitutional, unjust,  and  totally  invalid. 

"So  far  as  the  sentence  respects  me,  the  instances 
of  precipitancy  and  harshness  affect  me  little.  1 
thank  God  1  have  been  enabled  to  bear  them  with- 
out irritation,  and  can  forgive  those  who  from  igno- 
rance or  prejudice  have  been  active  in  it,  and  would 
request  you,  my  friends,  to  do  the  same.  But  I 
cannot  but  be  affected  with  it  in  another  point  of 
view,  as  it  relates  to  the  public  cause  of  religion  and 
reformation  in  this  land.  That  the  Synod  should 
not  only  have  been  left  to  depart  from  some  impor- 
tant parts  of  the  Reformation  Testimony,  but  to 
direct  the  heaviest  censures  against  those  who  are 
endeavouring,  amidst  great  discouragements,  to  main- 
tain it,  is  truly  affecting. 

"I  do,  therefore,  now  solemnly  protest  that  my 
office,  and  the  right  to  exercise  it,  remains  unaffected 
by  this  sentence  of  pretended  deposition  passed  by 
the  Synod;  that  the  relation  between  me  and  this 
congregation  remains  inviolate  and  unbroken,  as  I 
have  not  acted  contrary  unto,  but  am  endeavouring 
to  maintain  the  principles  of,  that  Testimony  accord- 
ing to  which  all  administrations  have  uniformly  pro- 
ceeded in  this  congregation  from  the  beginning; 
and  that  those  who  shall  take  upon  them  to  exercise 
those  ministrations  in  this  place,  which  rightfully 
belong  to  me,  are  chargeable  with  intruding  into 
my  charge." 


116  LIFE   OF  DU.   M'CIUE. 

We  shall  only  add  another  extract  on  this  dis- 
ngreeable  subject.  Writing  to  his  fellow-sufferer  in 
tiie  cause,  Mr.  Aitken,  Sept.  17,  1806,  he  observes, 
"  This  sentence  inflicted  on  you  soon  fell  upon  me 
also,  and  I  desire  to  rejoice  with  you  in  it,  as  well 
as  in  any  trials  to  which  we  may  be  subjected  in 
consequence  of  it.  "  The  spoiling  of  our  goods,"  we 
and  the  people  adhering  to  us  should  be  prepared 
for,  as  far  as  "  those  that  have  cast  out  our  names 
as  evil "  have  it  in  their  power.  The  pretended 
deposition,  though  precipitate  and  harsh,  I  was  not 
unprepared  for;  it  gave  no  pain  to  my  conscience, 
and  little  or  none  to  my  feelings.  I  have  reason 
to  feel  more  for  them  than  myself.  I  can  see  the 
hand  of  Providence  in  ridding  me  from  a  number  of 
disagreeable  circumstances  to  which  I  would  have 
been  subjected,  had  they  either  referred  the  matter 
to  the  presbytery,  or  rested  at  first  hand  in  suspen- 
sion.— Mrs.  M'Crie  has  stood  this  trial  better  than 
I  expected." 

Any  lengthened  comments  of  mine  upon  these 
proceedings  would  be  superfluous.  Indeed,  had  I 
followed  the  line  of  conduct  pursued  by  the  subject 
of  these  memoirs,  1  would  have  suppressed  even  the 
details  already  given;  for  after  tliis  period,  neitlier 
in  public  nor  in  private,  in  his  pulpit  discourses  or 
published  writings,  did  he  ever  make  the  slightest 
allusion  to  the  treatment  he  had  received  from  the 
Synod,  either  in  the  way  of  complaint,  or  by  taking 
advantage  of  it  against  them.  But  as  the  facts  re- 
quired to  be  stated,  the  paramount  claims  of  histo- 
rical truth  seem  to  demand  that  they  should  be  stated 
fully.  And  now  that  "  time's  effacing  fingers  "  have 
obliterated  every  vestige  of  the  personal  animosity 
excited  by  the  conflict — now  that  the  grave  has 
closed  over  all  the  sufferers  and  most  of  the  actors 
in  the  scenes  we  have  been  describing,  no  motives 
of  delicacy  can  any  longer  interfere  lo  prevent  their 
disclosure. 

On    the  conduct  of  the   Synod,   it  is  not  an  in- 


REFLECTIONS  ON  HIS  DEPOSITION.  117 

Veiling  task  to  make  any  reflections.  Many  of  its 
members,  it  is  hojDed,  lived  to  be  ashamed  ot"  having 
dealt  so  harshly  witli  men  wjiose  only  crime,  when 
their  case  is  viewed  apart  from  all  its  technicalities, 
was  their  steadfast  adherence  to  the  original  princi- 
ples of  the  Synod  and  their  own  ordination  vows. 
It  would  be  invidious  to  charge  the  Synoii  with  per- 
sonal hostility  to  the  members  of  the  Constitutional 
Presbytery.  But  when  we  consider  that  these  wen 
were  occupying  the  very  ground. which  the  Synod 
had  once  occupied  and  had  now  deserted — that  the 
character  and  constitution  of  that  body  had  been 
really  changed — and  that  there  was  a  moral  necessity 
urging  the  protesters  to  the  stand  they  made,  while 
no  honourable  evasion  was  left  them; — it  is  impossi- 
ble not  to  regard  the  censures  that  were  passed  on 
them  as  in  the  highest  degree  harsh  and  unjust,  or  to 
vindicatethose  who  urged  tiiein  with  so  much  violence 
and  precipitation  from  the  charge  of  being  influenced, 
in  no  small  measure,  by  passion  and  party  feeling. 
The  nullity  of  sentences  pronounced  on  sucii  grounds, 
in  the  case  of  the  protesters,  it  would  be  idle  to  de- 
monstrate. Nothing,  indeed,  now  seems  niore  extra- 
ordinary, than  that  it  should  ever  have  appeared  in 
the  light  of  "  doing  God  service,"  to  depose  from  the 
sacred  ministry,  and  expel  from  the  communion  of 
the  church,  these  faithful  servants  of  Jesus  Christ, 
whose  only  crime  was,  that  they  could  not,  in  obe- 
dience and  conformity  to  the  Synod,  abandon  the 
profession  to  which  they  had  sworn  adherence,  and 
violate  the  solemn  vows  they  had  taken  at  ordina- 
tion. 

There  is  one  feature  in  the  case  which  must  have 
struck  every  candid  reader,  namely,  the  purely  disin- 
terested and  conscientious  ciiaracter  of  the  appear- 
ance made  by  Dr.  M'Crie  and  his  friends  at  this 
time  for  the  cause  of  the  Reformation.  It  must 
have  been  apparent  to  all  who  have  examined,  how- 
ever slightly,  the  controversy  as  managed  by  them, 
that   it   involved  the  grand  principles  upon  which 


lis  LIFE   OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

National  Establishments  of  religion  have  been  de- 
fended by  their  more  enlightened  advofates  in  the 
present  day.  And  yet,  at  the  time  of  which  we 
speak,  neither  of  the  great  parties  whom  this  ques- 
tion has  now  brought  into  such  violent  collision, 
were  aware  of  the  tendency  or  importance  of  the 
controversy.  The  ministers  of  the  National  Church, 
not  feeling  themselves  directly  implicated  in  the  dis- 
pute, seem  to  have  totally  disregarded  it,  as  a  mere 
party  question  of  no  real  moment.  The  public  at 
large,  to  whom  it  had  not  yet  been  submitted  as  a 
practical  question  took  no  interest  in  the  subject. 
Even  the  lawyers,  and  judges  of  the  land,  at  that 
time  sufficiently  alive  to  every  thing  like  political 
innovation,  when  the  matter  was  brought  before 
them  and  subjected  to  their  deliberate  review,  failed 
to  perceive  the  native  consequences  of  the  principles 
adopted  by  the  Synod.  Press,  pulpit  and  platform 
were  silent;  and  the  battle  of  the  Establishment 
was  fought  by  a  few  Seceding  ministers,  who  never 
expected  to  share  in  its  emoluments,  and  who,  as  the 
only  earthly  recompense  of  their  fidelity,  saw  them- 
selves deposed  and  excommunicated  by  their  breth- 
ren, deserted  by  many  of  their  people,  branded  as  schis- 
matics, and  ultimately  thrust  out,  under  the  sanction 
of  law,  from  the  churches  in  which  they  had  officiated. 
Though  the  question  of  Civil  Establishments  was 
not  then  agitated  as  a  practical  one,  yet,  as  the  prin- 
ciple was  decidedly  involved,  so  Dr.  M'Crie  clearly 
foresaw,  even  at  this  early  period,  that  it  would  issue 
in  the  manner  it  has  done.  "The  principles  for  which 
we  have  been  called  to  contend,"  he  said  in  an  ad- 
dress to  his  flock  shortly  before  his  deposition,  "may 
appear  to  many  disputable  or  trivial  matters.  They 
do  not  appear  so  to  us:  we  view  them  as  involving 
the  glory  of  God,  the  honour  of  Him  whom  his 
Father  has  placed  on  his  holy  hill,  the  advancement 
of  his  public  interest  on  earth,  and  the  welfare  of 
nations.  Wc  look  upon  religion  as  the  common  con- 
cern of  all  mankind,  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  persons 


FORESIGHT  OF  FUTUJIE  STRUGGLES.  119 

to  promote  and  advance  it  in  every  station  which 
they  occupy.  We  consider  that  it  is  eminently  the 
duty  of  those  who  are  invested  with  civil  authority 
to  exercise  a  care  about  religion,  and  to  make  laws 
for  countenancing  its  institution.  We  are  persuaded 
that  if  the  principles  now  adopted  by  Seceders  had 
()eeri  acted  upon  in  former  times  in  this  country,  the 
Reformation  could  never  have  taken  place;  and  thai 
Satan,  after  having  found  his  former  scheme  of  perse- 
cuting religion  can  no  longer  succeed,  is  now  endeavour- 
ing to  persuade  men,  that  civil  government  and  rulers  have 
nothing  to  do  with  religion  and  the  kingdom  of  Christ.^' 
In  the  same  Address,  he  speaks  with  equal  confi- 
dence of  the  revival,  in  some  future  day,  of  the  prin- 
ciples for  which  he  contended,  and  utters  an  almost 
prophetic  anticipation  of  the  struggle  in  which  the 
Church  of  Scotland  is  now  engaged: — "Is  it  any 
wonder  that  there  should  be  Seceders  who  cannot 
submit  to  receive  such  doctrine?  The  time  will  come, 
when  it  will  be  a  matter  of  astonishment  that  so  few 
have  appeared  in  such  a  cause,  and  that  those  who 
have  appeared  should  be  borne  down,  opposed  and 
spoken  against.  And  low  as  the  credit  of  the  prin- 
ciples for  which  we  contend  is  now  sunk  in  the  body, 
and  few  as  are  now  disposed  to  appear  for  them,  1 
entertain  not  the  smallest  doubt  but  that  their  credit 
will  yet  be  revived,  not  only  in  the  Secession,  but  in 
a  more  general  way.  When  the  time  to  favour  Zion 
is  come,  what  have  been  esteemed  her  small  and  de- 
spised things,  will  appear  great  things,  and  the  stones 
which  her  sons  will  gather  out  of  her  rubbish  will 
appear  precious  stones."  * 

His  private  sentiments  were  not  less  decided. 
Nothing  could  be  farther  from  the  truth,  than  the 
charge  of  his  having  privately  attempted  to  gain  over 
others  to  his  opinions.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  well 
known  that  he  carried  his  reserve  on  this  point  so  far 
as  to  give  serious  offence  to  many  who  applied  for 
his  advice,  by  sending  them  away  with  a  dry  athiio- 

*  Delivered  in  June  1S06.     See  Appendix. 


120  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

nition  to  examine  the  subject  for  themselves.  This 
was  invariably  his  practice  through  life,  in  those 
cases  where  he  perceived  that  the  application  pro- 
ceeded rather  from  culpable  inattention  to  tlie  means 
of  information  uhich  lay  open  to  all,  than  from  real 
inability  to  form  a  judgment  on  the  question.  But 
when  in  the  company  of  those  whose  views  coincided 
with  his  own,  he  was  more  frank  in  expressing  his 
mind.  On  one  occasion  about  this  time,  it  is  remem- 
bered by  a  friend  that  he  enlarged  on  the  probable 
results  of  the  new-light  principles,  as  they  were  then 
termed,  and  declared  his  conviction  that  tliey  would 
soon  shake  the  whole  country,  and  subvert  all  its 
religious  institutions.  "  0  Sir,"  said  one  of  the  com- 
pany, "  we  will  surely  never  live  to  see  that  day." 
"I  don't  know  that,"  he  replied;  "I  feel  persuaded 
that  you  will  see  the  fruits  of  these  principles  in  a 
quarter  of  a  century." 

In  consequence  of  the  attempt  made  to  deprive 
him  of  his  meeting-house,  Mr.  M'Crie  was  now  in- 
volved in  all  the  toil  and  trouble  of  a  prolonged  liti- 
gation before  the  civil  courts;  and  as  the  question 
involved  the  points  of  controversy  with  the  Synod, 
which  it  was  no  easy  task  to  get  the  gentlemen  of 
the  long  robe  to  comprehend,*  he  found  himself 
under  the  necessity  of  composing  the  greater  part 
of  the  Jaw  papers  himself.  It  is  needless  to  enter 
into  the  history  of  this  process,  which,  as  usual,  be- 
came more  and  more  involved  the  longer  it  continued 
in  court.  The  Synod  party  claimed  the  property  on 
the  ground  that  it  was  erected  for  a  congregation  in 
connexion  with  the  General  Associate  Synod;  they 
pleaded  that  Mr.  M'Crie  being,  in  consequence  of 
his  deposition  for  schismatical  practices,  no  longer  a 

*  "  I  recollect  (tiiough  the  story  is  now  twenty  years  old)  in  a 
process  before  a  Civil  Court  for  my  former  place  of  worship, 
(which  was  lost,)  when  1  was  attempting  to  beat  into  the  head 
of  counsel  the  true  state  of  the  question  which  had  been  before 
the  Ecclesiastical  Courts,  '  What!  '  lie  exclaimed,  '  how  can  you 
be  a  friend  to  Establishments,  when  yon  are  not  a  member  ot'an 
Established  Church !  "—Dr.  M'Crie  to  Dr.  Watson,  Feb.  G,  h-i3-2. 


LITIGATION.  121 

minister  of  that  body,  neither  he  nor  liis  adherents 
had  any  right  to  retain  possession  of  the  house;  and 
they  prayed  the  civil  court  to  sanction  the  sentence 
of  the  Synod,  The  conduct  of  Mr.  M'Crie  in  object- 
ing to  the  formula,  is,  of  course,  eagerly  laid  hold  of 
to  prejudice  his  cause,  by  representing  him  as  "most 
unreasonably  complaining  upon  tiie  Synod  for  doing 
that  which  he  declared  it  was  necessary  to  do,  before 
he  could  conscientiously  submit  to  ordination."  And 
the  constitution  of  the  separate  Presbytery  at  Whit- 
burn (the  apparent  informality  of  which  it  was  much 
easier  for  their  Lordships  to  understand,  than  to 
judge  of  the  validity  of  the  spiritual  grounds  on  which 
it  was  vindicated)  was  considered  as  sufficient  to 
decide  the  whole  case.*  Mr.  M'Crie's  party,  on 
the  other  hand,  contended  that  the  disposal  of  the 
property,  according  to  the  original  deeds,  was  in- 
trusted not  to  the  Synod,  but  to  the  seat-holders,  of 
whom  they  claimed  a  majority;  that  the  body  call- 
ing themselves  the  General  Associate  Synod  was  a 
new  and  different  society  from  that  with  which  Mr. 
M'Crie  was  originally  connected,  settled  upon  a  new 
and  different  constitution,  and  that  to  this  society,  so 
constituted,  he  never  promised  nor  owed  any  subjec- 
tion ;  that  the  Synod  had  abandoned  the  principles 
to  which  he  had  become  bound  at  his  ordination; 
that  not  being  a  corporate  body,  or  recognised  in 
law,  the  civil  court  could  not  recognise  or  legally 
give  their  sanction  to  its  sentences;  and  that  the  o|)- 
posite  opinion  would  involve  the  extraordinary  con- 
sequence that  the  substantial  right,  or,  at  least,  the 
disposal  of  the  property  of  the  meeting-houses  in 
their  communion,  would  remain  with  the  ecclesias- 
tical courts,  though  acquired  at  the  sole  expense  of 
the  congregation.^ 

*  Petition  of  John  M'Intyre,  &c.,  Nov.  11,  1806.  Information 
for  John  M'Intyre  and  otliers  against  George  Caw  and  others, 
May  12,  1807.  Answers  for  John  M-Intyre  and  others,  Feb.  5, 
1807. 

t  The  Petition  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  M'Crie,  &c.,  unto  the  llight 
II 


123  LIFE   OF  DU.  M'CHI£. 

The  cause  was  protracted  in  the  Court  of  Session 
till  March  1809,  when,  by  a  majority  of  their  Lord- 
ships, it  was  decided  againsl  Mr.  M'Crie,  and  was 
carried  by  appeal  to  the  House  of  Lords.  Ultimately, 
however,  the  parties  came  to  an  agreement,  accord- 
ing to  which,  Mr.  M'Crie's  people,  on  receiving  a 
sum  of  money  from  the  opposite  party,  gave  up  their 
rights  to  the  litigated  property.  Subsequently,  in 
1810,  they  assembled  in  an  obscure  chapel  at  the  foot 
of  Carrubber's  Close,  till  May  2d,  1813,  when  they 
entered  a  new  place  of  worship  which  they  had 
erected  in  West  Richmond  Street,  and  in  which  Dr. 
M'Crie  continued  to  officiate  to  the  close  of  his  life. 

While  engaged  in  these  litigations,  he  undertook, 
at  the  request  of  his  brethren,  to  publish  a  paper 
explanatory  of  the  principles  involved  in  the  con- 
troversy which  had  occasioned  the  breach;  and  the 
work  appeared  in  April  1807,  under  the  title  of 
"  Statement  of  the  Difference  between  the  Profes- 
sion of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Scotland,  as  adopted 
by  Seceders,  and  the  Profession  contained  in  the 
New  Testimony  and  other  Acts  lately  adopted  by  the 
General  Associate  Synod,  particularly  on  the  power 
of  Civil  magistrates  respecting  Religion,  National 
Reformation,  National  Churches,  and  National  Cove- 
nants." The  "  Statement"  was  at  first  intended  to 
be  the  joint  production  of  the  Constitutional  Presby- 
tery; Mr.  M'Crie's  brethren,  however,  placed  so  much 
confidence  in  him,  that  they  left  it  to  himself;  and 
with  the  exception  of  the  chapter  on  Liberty  of  Con- 
science, in  which  he  had  the  aid  of  the  "jottings"  of 
Mr.  Bruce,  and  which  labours  under  an  obscurity 
arising  from  an  attempt  to  compress  a  complex  ques- 
tion into  too  small  space,  it  was  entirely  his  own  com- 
position. "  After  casting  about,"  he  says  to  one  of 
them,  "I  was  induced  at  last  to  put  my  name  into  the 
title,  lest  they  should  say  nobody  was  responsible.   All 

Honourable  the  Lords  of  Council  and  Ses.sion,  18th  Nov.  ISOG. 
Infornialioii  tor  Uic  Rev.  Tliomas  M'Crie  and  others,  against  John 
M'lntyre  and  others,  May  12,  1807. 


"THE  STATE:\rENT."  123 

that  we  can  do,  is  to  give  such  a  statement  as  may 
serve  to  furnish  information  of  the  state  of  matters 
to  those  who  wish  to  receive  it.  The  exposure  of  the 
sophistications  and  misrepresentations  of  the  other 
side,  must  he  left  to  a  separate  and  subsequent  work." 
The  strain  of  the  pamphlet  is,  therefore,  calm  and 
argumentative;  and,  with  slight  exceptions,  it  is  as 
applicable  to  the  present  state  of  matters,  as  it  was  to 
those  at  the  time  when  it  was  published.  The  early 
history  of  this  volume  furnishes  a  striking  instance 
of  the  truth,  that  excitement  in  the  public  mind  is 
necessary  to  ensure  a  perusal  for  any  production,  how- 
ever ably  written.  It  fell  almost  dead  from  the 
press;  but  under  the  agitation  of  the  Voluntary  ques- 
tion, it  came  into  such  request,  that  a  ransom  was 
offered  for  a  single  copy,  till  a  new  edition  could  be 
procured,  containing  that  part  which  referred  to  the 
connexion  between  church  and  state;  and  it  now 
remains,  not  only  a  satisfactory  exposition  of  the 
cause  of  the  Constitutional  Presbytery,  but  a  full 
and  Scriptural  defence  of  the  great  principle  of  the 
duty  of  nations,  as  intimately  affecting  all  their 
interests,  civil  and  religious. 

The  controversy,  as  managed  by  the  Constitutional 
Presbytery,  and  in  the  <'  Statement "  by  Dr.  M'Crie, 
differed  in  several  important  points  from  the  mode  in 
which  the  modern  Voluntary  question,  to  which  it 
bore  a  great  resemblance  in  some  of  its  leading  fea- 
tures, has  been  generally  conducted.  The  question 
of  endowment — which  is  now  considered  the  most 
essential  part  of  the  whole,  so  much  so  that  some 
have  gone  so  far  as  to  maintain  that,  were  it  want- 
ing, the  controversy  would  be  at  an  end — this  truly 
paltry  and  secularizing  element  entered  almost  as 
little  into  the  dispute  at  the  time  of  whirh  we  write, 
as  it  did  into  the  motives  of  the  disputants.  If  in- 
troduced at  all,  it  was  regarded  merely  in  the  liglit 
of  a  corollary  from  the  grand  principle  in  debate, 
namely,  the  power  and  duty  of  the  civil  magistrate, 
as  such,  in  reference  to  religion.     This  principle  de- 


l24  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIt:. 

rived  its  main  interest,  in  the  eyes  of  the  protesters^ 
from  its  bearings  on  the  history  of  the  Reformation 
from  Popery  and  Prelacy  in  Britain;  and  it  went  to 
decide  questions  infinitely  more  important  than  any 
connected  with  pecuniary  arrangements,  such  as, — - 
How  far  were  our  ancestors  right  in  legalizing  the 
profession  of  the  true  religion? — in  passing  laws  in 
its  favour? — in  protecting  the  Sabbath,  and  repress- 
ing gross  violations  of  the  first  table  of  the  law? 
Are  they  to  be  justified  or  condemned  for  having 
combined  civil  and  religious  matters  in  those  solemn 
covenants  by  which  the  Reformation,  at  both  its 
periods,  was  confirmed  ? — and  how  far,  consequently, 
has  the  nation,  as  well  as  the  church,  become  bound 
by  these  engagements?  In  short,  ought  religion  to 
be  recognised  in  the  education  of  youth,  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  oaths,  and  in  admission  to  places  of 
power  and  trust  in  the  country?  Again,  while  they 
declared  themselves  in  favour  of  civil  establishments 
of  religion,  the  Constitutional  Presbytery  were  care- 
ful to  guard  against  being  supposed  to  approve  of  the 
existing  establishments,  which  they  considered  as,  in 
various  respects,  faulty  and  defective;  disapproving, 
in  particular,  of  the  Revolution-settlement  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  as  having  been  effected  in  the 
way  of  overlooking  all  the  attainments  of  the  Second 
Reformation.  Their  declaration  of  adherence,  there- 
fore, to  the  constitution  of  the  church  of  Scotland, 
was  always  coupled  with  the  explanation,  "as  stated 
in  her  standards  and  acts  of  reformation."  But  the 
most  important  point  of  difference  between  the  con- 
tendings  of  these  brethren,  and  those  of  the  modern 
advocates  of  establishments,  is  to  be  found  in  the  im- 
portance which  they  attached  to  the  Covenants,  as 
national  deeds,  binding  upon  posterity.  Little  as  this 
point  may  be  now  understood,  and  much  as  it  may  be 
questioned,  it  goes  deeper  into  the  argument  for  estab- 
lishments than  many  are  aware  of  The  first  shape  in 
which  voluntaryism  reared  its  head,  was  in  that  of  an 
attempt  to  spiritualize  these  deeds,  and  under  the  plea 


DEPOSITION  OF   MR.  AITKEN.  125 

of  simplifying  the  profession  of  Sececlers,  to  separate 
tliem  from  the  civil  transactions  with  which  they 
were  connected.  And  to  say  no  more  at  present, 
I  venture  to  affirm,  that  no  argument  can  be  held 
valid  against  the  national  oblisation  of  our  Covenants, 
which  will  not  strike,  with  equally  fatal  effect,  against 
national  religion. 

Painful  as  it  is  to  dwell  upon  the  history  of  the 
censures  which  were  inflicted  on  the  other  protesting 
ministers,  it  would  be  unpardonable  to  avoid  noticing 
what  befell  these  worthy  men,  with  whom,  during  a 
large  portion  of  his  life,  Dr.  M'Crie  was  so  intimately 
associated  in  fortune  and  affection.  If  the  protesters 
were  irregular  in  managing  their  cause  with  the 
Synod,  that  body  seemed  resolved  to  outstrip  them 
in  the  irregularity  of  their  proceedings  against  them. 
Instances  of  this  it  would  be  too  tedious  to  mention. 
The  most  remarkable  feature  in  the  whole  history  is, 
the  readiness  with  which,  on  every  occasion,  they 
availed  themselves  of  the  aid  of  the  secular  arm,  to 
(■nforce  the  judgments  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Courts. 
With  all  their  professed  horror  of  confounding  things 
sacred  and  civil — with  all  their  theoretical  jealousy 
of  admitting  the  use  of  force,  in  any  form,  where  re- 
ligion was  concerned,  they  showed  no  reluctance 
to  appeal  to  carnal  weapons,  when  the  object  was  to 
banish  from  their  pulpits,  meeting-houses  and  manses, 
those  ministers  whom  they  had  deposed — and  de- 
posed, be  it  remembered,  substantially  because  they 
could  not  swallow  a  Testimony  which  denied  to  the 
magistrate  any  concern  whatever  with  the  church  or 
with  religion.  The  expulsion  of  the  deposed  minis- 
ters was  sought  from  the  civil  power  expressly  on  tiie 
ground  of  the  ecclesiastical  censure;*  interdicts  sheriff- 

*  "  With  these  views,  a  bill  of  suspension  and  interdict  was 
presented  in  name  of  Archibald  Glen,  James  Pillans,  Thomas 
TuinbuU,  and  others,  members  of  the  said  congregation,  or  con- 
nected therewith,  wherein  the  suspenders, /oM?«r/t?i^  ou  the  sen- 
tence uf  deposition,  obtained  against  Mr.  M'Crie  in  the  Synod, 
and  without  condescending  even  to  take  any  notice  of  the  un- 
doubted civil  right  whicli  the  informants,  as  trustees,  and  as  re- 
11^ 


\26  LIFE  OP  DR.  M'CRIEv 

tjfficers,  legal  prosecutions,  and  even  military  (orce^ 
were  called  into  action,  to  carry  into  effect  the  sen™ 
tences  pronounced  by  these  foes  to  the  magistrate's 
power  circa  sacra;  and  those  who  had  denied  to  king 
and  parliament  the  right  of  judging,  for  the  state, 
between  true  and  false  religion,  now  committed  to 
sheriffs  and  Lords  Ordinary  the  delicate  task  of  de- 
ciding, for  the  church,  whether  the  Narrative  and 
Testimony  was  a  material  departure  from  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Secession,  and  how  far  the  change  in  the 
constitution  of  the  General  Associate  Synod  affect- 
ed the  validity  of  the  censures  pronounced  by  them. 
Lords  and  lawyers,  accustomed  only  to  sharpen  their 
wits  on  the  dry  pandects  and  practicks  of  the  bar, 
were  unexpectedly  called  upon  to  pass  sentence  on 

^rpsenting'  a  majority  of  the  congregation,  have  to  the  exclusive' 
jjossessioh  and  disposal  of  the  meeting-house,  prayed  the  Lord 
Ordinary  "for  an  interdict,  prohibiting  and  discharging  the  said 
Thomas  JVl'Crie  from  preaching  in  the  meeting-house  of  said  con- 
gregation, and  also  proliibiting  and  discharging  him,  and  all  others, 
from  troubUhg  or  liiolesting  the  said  James  Hay,  or  any  other 
minister  whom  the  Associate  Syrtod,  or  the  Presbytery  to  which 
lour  congregation  behmgs,  may  at  any  ftiture  time  appoint  to 
preach  in  said  church.'' — {InJ'ormutiunfor  the  Kev.  Thomas  M' Crie, 
&c.,May  ]'i,  IH07,) 

The  opposite  party,  a'ware  of  this  objection,  assert,  that  "they 
found  upon  the  sentence  of  deposition  against  iVIr.  M'Crie,  not 
as  a  sentence  of  an3'  court  to  wiiich  your  Lordships  can  as  such 
•give  effect,  but  nierely  as  a  piede  of  evidence  to  show  that  Mrw 
M'Crie  no  longer  belongs  to  the  Associate  Synod." — (Petition 
vfJoltn  M'Iniyre,  &c.,  Nov.  1 1 ,  180r>.)  Had  this  been  ail,  there 
was  no  occasion  for  producing  such  "a  piece  of  evidence,''  as 
Mr.  M'Crie  Vvas  quite  ready  to  iiclinowledge  the  fact.  But  it  is 
too  plain,  that  they  meant  it  to  militate  against  liis  civil  rights, 
by  holding  him  up  to  the  court  na  a  schismatick,  a  point  which 
teould  only  be  ascertained  by  examining  into  the  grounds  of  the 
feentertce.  Accordingly,  they  labour  to  show,  in  support  of  that 
sentence,  that  Ml-.  M-Orie  had  changed  his  principles,  while  the 
Associate  J^ynod  had  kept  steady  to  theirs.  "  Tiie  Suspenders 
are  ti'uly  callino-  on  your  Lordships  to  exercise  a  power  over  the 
vonscienccs  of  the  petitioners,  in  as  much  as  they  would  have 
.you  put  in  execution  a  sentence  of  the  Synod,  which  has  no  other 
foundation,  than  that  Mr.  M'Crie,  without  doing  violence  to  his 
(own  mirld  and  religious  principles,  could  not  bring  himself  to  ac- 
(quicsce  in  those  new  doctrines,  which  a  majority  of  the  Synod 
^lave  lately  adopted  and  declared.'' — (Petition  of  the  Rev.  Thomas 
M-Vi-ir:,  Nov.  Id,  IBOU.) 


SCENE  AT  MR.  AITKEN's  DEPOSITION.  127 

points  which  involved  a  proper  understanding  of 
"Gib's  Display,"  and  "Nairn's  Reasons  of  Dissent." 
In  some  instances,  these  applications  led  to  scenes 
not  very  creditable  to  the  cause  of  religion.  At 
Kirriemuir,  where  the  popularity  of  Mr.  Aitken  had 
attracted  great  crowds  from  the  surrounding  country, 
to  witness  the  ceremony  of  his  deposition,  the  Synod 
party  having  failed  to  obtain  possession  of  the  keys 
of  the  meeting-house,  and  apprehending  a  riot,  made 
application  to  the  commander  of  the  volunteers,  to 
draw  out  his  troop  for  their  protection.  This  was 
refused,  and  on  the  appointed  sabbath,  (22d  Septem- 
ber 1806,)  Mr.  Aitken,  to  prevent  an  unseemly  colli- 
sion, retired,  with  an  immense  multitude,  to  a  tent  in 
an  adjoining  field.  The  scene  which  ensued  is  thus 
described  by  himself  in  a  manuscript  account  in  my 
possessions  "The  great  body  of  the  people  imme- 
diately followed  him.  In  his  way  to  the  tent,  he  met 
■the  Synod's  minister,  accompanied  by  the  procurator 
and  five  or  six  sheriff-officers,  with  a  crowd  of  chil- 
dren at  their  heels.  Upon  their  arrival  at  the  meet- 
ing-house, various  methods,  it  is  said,  were  suggested 
for  getting  access.  A  blacksmith,  noted  in  the  place, 
and,  it  is  supposed,  the  only  person  who  could  have 
heen  prevailed  upon  to  undertake  such  a  business, 
was  employed  to  pick  the  lock.  In  this  he  either 
was  unsuccessful,  or  pretended  to  be  so,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  affording  some  more  entertainment  to  the 
attending  mob.  Some  proposed  scaling  the  upper 
windows  by  means  of  a  ladder.  An  attempt  was 
made  to  get  in  at  a  lower  window,  and  a  pane  of 
glass  was  broken  for  that  purpose.  These  methods 
proving  ineffectual,  the  blacksmith  went  to  the  other 
end  of  the  town  for  his  forehammer,  by  repeated 
strokes  of  which  on  the  door,  it  Was  at  last  laid  open. 
This  scene,  you  may  believe,  occupied  no  short  time, 
during  all  which  the  minister  was  a  spectator,  if  not, 
•as  some  report,  a  principal  director  of  the  measures. 
You  will  naturally  ask  how  many  members  of  the 
^coni^regation    were   there   who   had   emhraced    the 


128  LIFE  OP  DR.  M^CniE. 

Synod's  new  principles,  in  whose  name  and  for  whose 
sake  all  this  violence  and  profanation  of  the  Lord's 
day  took  place?  Only  twenty-four  or  twenty-jive  per- 
sons, men  and  women  included.  No  more  belonging 
to  the  congregation  entered  the  meeting-house  that 
day.  Such  was  the  number  of  persons,  who,  having 
first  relinquished  their  former  religious  profession 
and  solemn  vows,  did  with  the  countenance,  and  un- 
der the  influence  and  direction  of  the  Synod,  sacrile- 
giously and  violently  take  possession,  on  the  Lord's 
day,  of  the  meeting-house  of  a  congregation  conti- 
nuing to  adhere  to  every  part  of  the  common  profes- 
sion for  which  that  house  was  erected,  and  give  their 
countenance  to  a  daring  profanation  of  the  name,  or- 
dinances, and  day  of  the  Lord,  by  the  reading  of  a 
sentence  of  deposition  and  excommunication  against 
their  minister,  passed  solely  on  the  ground  of  his  ad- 
hering to  his  ordination  vows,  and  acting  in  corre- 
spondence to  them.  '  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they 
know  not  what  they  have  done.'  " 

Mr.  Bruce's  turn  came  next.  "I  learn,"  writes 
Mr.  M'Crie  to  him,  September  23,  1806,  "that  the 
summons  of  the  Synod  was  served  upon  you  last 
week  with  all  the  formalities  borrowed  from  an  esta- 
blished church.*  Spiritual,  wholly  spiritual  as  the 
church  is  said  to  be,  it  seems  that  it  is  requisite  that 
a  tip-staff  or  messenger-at-arms  should  trudge  all 
the  way  from  Edinburgh  to  Whitburn,  and  from  his 

*  The  Seceders  were  not  accustomed  formerly  to  employ  such 
formalities,  considering  them  unsuitable  to  their  circumstances, 
I  suppose,  as  their  community  was  not  recognised  in  law.  The 
Antiburghers,  when  they  deposed  their  brethren  the  Burghers, 
did  not  seek  to  dispossess  them  of  their  meeting-houses.  I  am  dis- 
posed to  trace  many  of  these  ridiculous  attempts  at  legal  doings, 
to  their  having  taken  into  their  counsel  some  gentlemen  of  the 
law,  who  led  their  simple  clients  much  deeper  into  the  mysteries 
of  the  profession,  than  they  would  ever  have  thought  of,  had  they 
been  left  to  themselves.  In  perusing  the  minutes  of  the  Potterrow 
congregation,  kept  by  the  new-light  party  about  this  time,  it  is 
amusing  to  observe  the  change  which  "  comes  over  the  spirit  of 
their  dream,"  and  the  tenour  of  their  documents,  when  "  James 
Rae,  writer  in  Edinburgh,  was  appointed  by  the  meeting  to  act 
as  assistant  clerk  to  Thomas  Turnbull,the  Congregational  clerk." 


Deposition  of  m'rs.  :6ruce  and  chalmers.  129 

allowance  of  five  shillings  should  hire  two  weavers 
from  their  looms  to  go  along  with  him;  and  in  the 
morning,  before  you  have  time  to  escape,  execute 
upon  you, in  all  due  form,  the  legal  citation!  Were 
these,  among  the  spiritual  means  which  the  Apostles 
used  for  retaining  men  in  the  church,  or  casting  them 
out  of  it  ?  Mr.  Hogg  would  write  you  the  manner  in 
which  his  was  served,  less  ceremoniously,  but  more 
unfeelingly.  If  they  have  it  in  their  power,  you  will 
both  of  you  have  another  summons  served  upon  you, 
by  a  different  messenger,  interdicting  you  from  your 
pulpits,  kirks,  and  manses.  In  my  case,  the  latter 
preceded  the  former  a  day,  nor  did  he  think  it  neces- 
sary to  use  the  same  formality  of  witnesses."  The 
Presbytery  of  Edinburgh,  to  whom  the  Professor's 
case  was  remitted,  had  considerable  difficulty  in 
managing  it.  The  sagacious  old  gentleman  would 
not  consent  to  criminate  himself  by  admitting,  what 
he  considered  it  their  business  to  prove,  that  he  was 
a  member  of  the  obnoxious  meeting  of  Presbytery  at 
Wiiitburn;  and  not  a  single  witness  could  be  got  to 
depone  to  the  fact,  his  congregation  having  unani- 
mously adhered  to  their  pastor.  They  were  obliged, 
accordingly,  to  proceed  on  more  general  grounds,  and, 
on  the  7th  of  October  1S06,  he  was  deposed  for  this 
among  other  reasons  common  to  him  with  the  rest, 
that  "  he  does  not  deny  that  he  is  a  member  of  a  Pres- 
bytery lately  erected,  separate  from,  and  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  Synod;  but  only  says  that  such  a  Presby- 
tery has  not  been  publicly  announced,  and  the  Pres- 
bytery must  therefore  consider  this  fact  as  admitted 
by  him."  This  sentence  was  never  publicly  intimated, 
the  minister  on  whom  the  task  was  devolved  having, 
partly  from  aversion  to  the  execution  of  it,  and  partly, 
it  is  said,  from  bodily  fear,  never  approached  the 
scene  of  action.* 

*  This  minister  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Oliver  of  Craigmaillen,  near 
Linlithgow,  one  of  those  eccentric  characters,  once  common  in 
the  Secession,  though  now  fast  disappearing  under  the  levelling 
jnfluence  of  modern  refinement,  of  whom  many  anecdotes  were 


130  LIFE   or  DR.  M^CRIE. 

Mr.  Chalmers  was  deposed  on  the  2Sth  July  1S07. 
The  minister  employed  to  intimate  this  sentence 
proved  more  courageous  than  the  last;  for  he  not 
only  preached,  but  published  the  sermon  delivered 
on  the  sad  occasion,  under  the  title  of  "  Consolation 
to  the  Church."*  Mr.  Hogg  being  on  his  death-bed, 
his  case  was  delayed,  from  the  likelihood,  as  some 
of  them  expressed  it,  that  "  the  liord  would  soon 
remove  him  out  of  the  way" — an  expectation  which 
was  speedily  realized. 

Notwithstanding  these  severe  measures,  the  pro- 
testing ministers  were  enabled,  through  grace,  "  in 
patience  to  possess  their  souls."  The  most  trying 
part  of  their  lot  was  to  bear  the  misconstructions 
which  were  put  on  their  conduct,  and  the  misrepre- 
sentations which  were  made  of  tiieir  principles.  They 
were  held  forth,  from  the  pulpit  and  the  press,  as  a 
set  of  prejudiced  and  narrow-minded  men,  who  had 
adopted  views  hitherto  unknown  in  the  Secession, 
which  they  could  neither  explain  nor  defend,  who 
were  breaking  the  peace  of  the  church  for  mere 
crotchets,  and  whose  principles,  so  far  as  they  were 
intelligible,  would  lead  to  persecution. 

Most  of  the  members  of  the  Constitutional  Pres- 
bytery published  Addresses  to  their  congregations, 
explaining  the  grounds  of  their  separation  from  the 
General  Synod,  and  vindicating  their  conduct  from 

told  by  their  cotemporaries.  On  the  occasion  above  referred  to, 
lie  started  from  his  seat  in  the  Presbytery,  exclaiming,  "  Me  preach 
the  professor's  pulpit  vacant,  Moderator  I  Tliey  would  stane  mc 
like  a  dog." 

*"  Consolation  to  the  Church,''  by  Robert  Culbertson,  Mi- 
nister of  the  Gospel,  Leith.  "  Mr.  Culbertson's  candle  of  consola- 
tion must  not  be  put  out,  nor  placed  under  a  bushel  or  a  bed, 
after  having  twinkled  for  an  hour  or  two  at  Haddington,  but  set 
up  more  conspicuously  and  permanently,  by  means  of  a  shilling 
pamphlet,  that  it  may  shed  its  benign  radiance  on  all  the  new- 
light  mourners  of  the  land.  Sermons  preached  on  occasions  of 
ordaining  persons  to  the  oflice  of  tbe  holy  ministry  have  often 
been  published,  but  it  is  one  among  the  many  new  things  of  the 
present  time  to  publish  discourses  at  the  intimation  of  a  sentence 
prohibiting  one  from  speaking  any  more  in  the  name  of  Jesus." — 
Mr.  Chalmers'  Address,  p.  77. 


PUBLICATIONS  OF  THE  PROTESTERS.  131 

the  aspersions  to  which  it  had  subjected  them.  Those 
who  desire  full  information  of  the  processes  against 
the  protesters,  may  be  referred  to  Mr.  Bruce's  Re- 
view of  the  Proceedings  of  the  General  Associate 
Synod."  They  may  be  surprised  to  find  a  volume  of 
421  pages  entirely  occupied  with  proofs  of  "the  irre- 
gularity, injustice  and  nullity  of  the  censures  inflicted" 
on  the  protesting  brethren,  and  "remarks  upon  the 
misrepresentations,  falsehoods  and  aspersions  "  pro- 
pagated against  them.  These  disclosures,  however 
necessary  at  the  time,  are  of  little  farther  use  now 
than  to  show  how  far  party  spirit  will  blind  the  judg- 
ment and  bias  the  decisions  of  Church  Courts,  com- 
posed of  men  whose  piety  and  good  sense  in  private 
life  are  unquestionable.  "  I  have  perused  the  Re- 
view," says  Dr.  M'Crie  to  its  author  in  ISOS,  "with 
much  gratification.  With  the  view  of  procuring  a 
candid  perusal  from  some  of  our  late  connexions,  I 
could  not  help  wishing  that  some  of  the  minute  de- 
tails had  been  abridged,  and  that  some  severe  expres- 
sions had  been  softened."  Mr.  Turnbull  of  Glasgow, 
a  learned  Hebrew  scholar  and  teacher,  and  a  man  of 
a  peculiar  vein  of  humour,  published  a  sarcastic  pam- 
phlet on  the  subject,  entitled,  "Old  light  better  than 
pretended  New,"  with  the  motto,  "No  man  having 
drunk  old  wine  straightway  desireth  new;  for  he  saith, 
The  old  is  better."  The  subject  of  our  memoir,  speak- 
ing of  this  piece,  says,  "A  great  outcry  will  be  made 
about  the  severity  of  it:  but  the  saltness  of  the  salt  is 
connected  with  its  savour.  The  peculiar  manner  of 
the  author  throws  an  obscurity  over  the  argument  in 
some  places,  which  will  hinder  a  great  number  from 
perceiving  its  meaning  and  force.  But  it  contains  a 
number  of  important  facts  and  invincible  reasonings." 
Mr.  Chalmers,  who  joined  the  Presbytery  in  1S07, 
in  his  address  to  his  congregation,  formerly  noticed, 
discusses  the  question  at  considerable  length.  Mr. 
Hogg's  briefer  address  is  distinguished  for  its  affec- 
tionate simplicity  and  closeness  of  appeal.* 

*  The  following  may  be  given  as  a  specimen  of  this  excellent 
man's  Address,  which,  having  been  written  very  shortly  before 


132  LIFE  OP  DR.  M'CRIE. 

The  subsequent  History  of  the  Constitutional 
Presbytery  presents  little  that  can  be  interesting  to 
the  public.  Having  declared  to  the  world  the  ground 
on  which  they  stood,  they  showed  no  ambition  to 
increase  their  numbers,  or  to  gain  popularity.  Con- 
tented with  steadfastly  maintaining,  in  their  humble 
spheres,  and  with  the  few  who  adhered  to  them  from 
principle,  the  cause  which  was  dear  to  their  hearts, 
they  supplied  with  preaching  those  congregations 
who  petitioned  to  be  received  into  their  communion 
on  the  old  terms  of  fellowship;  but  they  required 

his  death,  may  be  viewed  as  his  "  dying  testimony:" — "  You  are 
apt,  brethren,  to  be  prejudiced  against  civil  establishments,  be- 
cause you  often  see  civil  authority  on  the  side  of  a  false,  not  on 
that  of  the  true,  religion.  Even  when  the  substance  of  an  establish- 
ment is  good,  and  the  authorized  standards  of  a  church  unexcep- 
tionable, yet  you  see  the  end  of  the  establishment  defeated. — You 
see  the  legal  provision  made  for  the  support  of  a  ministry  ad- 
hering to  the  authorized  standards,  and  bound  to  regulate  their 
conduct  by  them,  devoured  by  a  ministry  denying  and  destroying 
what  they  engaged  to  maintain  and  support.  You  see,  in  a  word , 
a  scriptural  creed  and  an  anti-scriptural  ministry.  This  is  a  se- 
rious evil,  and  much  to  be  lamented.  But  still  it  is  an  abuse  of 
what  is  good  in  itself;  and  from  the  abuse  made  of  any  thing,  no 
argument  should  be  drawn  against  it.  What  the  Persian  kings 
did,  in  giving  money  out  of  their  treasures  for  the  building  of  the 
temple,  and  beasts,  wheat  and  oil  out  of  their  stores  for  the  ser- 
vice of  God, — would  not  have  ceased  to  be  good,  though  those 
to  whom  they  were  given  had  not  employed  them  for  the  purposes 
for  wliich  they  were  intended.  Because  you  see  no  establishment 
of  what  you  can  fully  approve,  does  it  therefore  follow,  that  no 
such  establishment  has  ever  been  or  can  be  made  ? — Suppose  for 
a  moment,  brethren,  that  the  whole  of  the  covenanted  Reforma- 
tion is  again  revived  and  restored  ;  that  the  present  corruptions 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland  are  removed ;  that  she  and  her  ministers 
are  as  pure  as  her  standards  require  them  to  be;  that  in  this  way 
the  causes  of  separation  from  the  National  (Jhurch  are  no  more; 
that  the  whole  Secession  body,  and  others  who  have  withdrawn 
from  the  National  Church  on  account  of  her  corruptions,  do  in- 
stantly return  to  her  bosom ;  that  our  unhappy  divisions  are  at 
an  end,  peace  and  harmony  restored  ;  that,  agreeable  to  the  inten- 
tion of  the  Westminster  Standards  and  our  Covenants,  the  Lord 
becomes  one  and  his  name  one  in  these  three  nations ;  and  even 
in  other  kingdoms  embracing  the  same  religion  with  us ;  would 
not  this  be  a  happy  and  glorious  event  ?  Who  would  not  rejoice 
to  see  it?  Beware  then,  brethren,  of  adopting  opinions  which 
would  render  it  impossible,  or  hinder  you  from  profiting  by  it, 
should  it  take  place.  Yet  this  you  would  do,  should  you  renouace 
your  former  profession,  and  adopt  the  New  Testimony." 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  PRESBYTERY.  133 

from  all  who  joined  them  an  explicit  pledge  of  their 
adherence  to  the  principles  of  the  Secession;  nor  did 
they,  under  the  pretence  of  liberality,  seek  to  en- 
large their  society,  by  opening  a  door  for  the  admis- 
sion of  any  malcontents  who  might  be  dissatisfied, 
on  personal  grounds,  with  other  communions.  Their 
object  was  not  to  raise  a  party,  but  to  maintain  a 
cause.  Acting  on  such  principles,  their  numbers,  it 
may  be  easily  supposed,  were  never  considerable; 
at  the  same  time,  it  would  be  unfair  to  measure  by 
the  members  who  acceded  to  them,  the  amount  of 
adherence  to  their  principles  then  existing  in  the 
country.  Many,  it  is  believed,  remained  connected 
with  the  Synod,  from  attaciiment  to  their  ministers, 
who  yet  retained  their  liking  to  the  good  old  cause; 
and  had  the  Constitutional  Pi'es!)ytery  met  the  de- 
mand for  sermon  by  a  more  regular  and  more  popu- 
lar supply  than  they  were  enabled  to  afford,  they 
would  no  doubt  have  made  a  much  more  respectable 
figure  in  the  eye  of  the  world.  But  the  relics  of  a 
purer  age  of  Seceders  soon  died  out;  and  their  de-- 
scendants,  uninstructed  in  the  principles  of  their  fa- 
thers, now  form  that  mass  of  dissent  which  threat- 
ens the  existence  of  the  Establishment.  The  Con- 
stitutional Presbytery,  "perfectly  joined  together  in 
the  sanie  mind  and  in  the  same  judgment,"  conti- 
nued, for  twenty-one  years,  to  enjoy  in  each  other's 
fellowship,  a  peace  and  feHcity  to  which  they  had 
long  been  stranger's;  till,  in  1827,  they  were  harmo- 
niously blended  with  another  body  of  Protesters 
from  the  same  Synod,  under  the  common  name  of 
Original  Seceders. 

In  the  midst  of  "  the  storm  of  contention  and 
strife,"  which  we  have  now  described,  Mr.  M'Crie 
did  not  remit  his  literary  occupations.  About  the  be- 
ginning of  the  year  1803,  lie  had  undertaken  to  assist 
his  friend,  Mr.  Whytock,  in  conducting  the  Christian 
Magazine,  a  monthly  jierlJodical,  the  first  scries  of 
which  commenced  in  179^^,  and  was  continued  till 
1  ^ 


134  LIFE   OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

the  end  of  1806.  This  series  of  the  magazine  is  dis- 
tinguished for  the  solidity  of  its  matter  and  sound- 
ness of  its  views;  and,  with  little  pretension  to  lite- 
rary merit,  it  contains  a  valuable  collection  of  papers 
on  doctrinal  and  practical  subjects,  well  adapted  to 
popular  edification.  To  this  miscellany  our  author 
contributed  a  variety  of  articles  under  different  sig- 
natures— that  of  Fhilistor  (lover  of  history)  being 
usually  affixed  to  his  papers  on  historical  subjects. 
The  Christian  Magazine,  though  conducted  on  the 
strictest  principles  of  Calvinism,  was  preserved,  dur- 
ing the  progress  of  the  first  series,  perfectly  free  from 
all  sectarian  or  party  bias — it  was  supported  by  both 
sections  of  the  Secession — and  (0  how  unlike  our 
modern  periodicals!)  all  politics,  ecclesiastical  as 
well  as  secular,  were  carefully  excluded.  This  did  not 
arise,  on  the  part  of  our  author  at  least,  from  indif- 
ference to  the  subject  of  church  government,  the 
general  principles  of  which  were  frequently  illus- 
trated in  their  practical  application.  "  We  have  new 
rivals  starting  every  month,"  he  writes  to  the  Profes- 
sor, after  urging  him  to  contribute  to  the  magazine 
vvhich  had  newly  come  under  his  management, 
March,  1S03.  '^Did  you  see  the  advertisement  of 
the  Scots  Presbyterian  JNIagazine,  to  be  conducted 
under  the  direclion  of  ministers  of  the  Established 
Church?  They  profess  themselves  believers  in  the 
standards  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  they  will 
be  ready  to  defend  the  venerable  fabric  which  their 
fathers  reared  at  so  much  expense,  and  in  defence  of 
which  they  suffered  and  bled,  against  the  rude  attacks 
of  assailants.  Yet  they  will  leave  'the  bigot  to 
waste  his  zeal  upon  forms  of  church  government — 
as  for  them  they  look  upon  these  as  but  anise,  mint 
and  cummin!'  " 

The  first  number  of  the  Magazine  for  1803,  in- 
volved our  editor  in  a  very  delicate  question.  An 
extraordinary  commotion  had  appeared  the  preceding 
year  in  America,  particularly  among  the  Presbyte- 
rians of  the  General  Assembly,  resembling  those  re- 


THE  CHRISTIAN  .^lAGAZINE.  135 

vivals  which  have  since  hecomc  so  familiar  in  that 
country.  At  one  sacrament  in  Kentucky,  it  was  sup- 
posed, not  less  than  a  thousand  persons  fell  prostrate 
to  the  ground,  among  whom  were  many  infidels. 
One  account  informs  us,  that  "  immediately  before 
they  become  totally  powerless,  they  are  seized  with 
a  general  tremor,  and  sometimes,  though  not  often, 
they  utter  one  or  two  piercing  shrieks  in  the  moment 
of  falling.  Persons  in  this  situation  are  affected  in 
difiercnt  degrees;  sometimes,  when  unable  to  stand 
or  sit,  they  have  the  use  of  their  hands,  and  can  con- 
verse with  perfect  composure.  In  other  cases,  they 
are  unable  to  speak,  and  they  draw  a  difficult  breath, 
about  one  in  a  minute:  in  some  instances  their  ex- 
tremities become  cold,  and  pulsation,  breathing,  and 
all  the  signs  of  life,  forsake  them  for  nearly  an  hour. 
Numbers  of  thoughtless  sinners  have  fallen  as  sud- 
denly as  if  struck  witb  lightning,  and  sometimes  at 
the  very  moment  when  they  were  uttering  blasphe- 
mies against  the  work."  By  some  this  was  repre- 
sented as  the  effect  of  the  pouring  out  of  the  Spirit, 
and  extolled  as  a  remarkable  revival  of  religion;  by 
others,  it  was  viewed  as  the  work  of  the  devil.  Se- 
ceders,  it  must  be  allowed,  have  always  been  jealous 
of  such  demonstrations;  the  genius  of  their  system, 
whatever  may  be  its  faults,  has  never  been  propitious, 
nor  its  followers  very  prone,  to  enthusiastic  extremes. 
"I  have  to  rem.ark,"  says  one  of  their  ministers, 
writing  a  description  of  the  scenes  in  America,  "  that 
nothing  of  that  kind  has  taken  place  among  ovr  people.^'' 
Some  remarks  were  appended  to  these  accounts  in 
the  Magazine,  representing  the  extravagance  and 
disorder  of  the  scenes  described,  as  "  apt  to  lead 
people  into  a  dangerous  delusion  about  the  state  of 
their  souls,"  and  accounting  for  the  impressions  and 
agitations,  in  a  great  measure,  "  by  considering  the 
power  of  contagion,  and  the  influence  of  example."* 

*  The  violence  with  which  some  of  the  Secession  ministers  in- 
veighed against  the  work  at  Can.buslang,  has  been  frequently, 
and,  in  some  degree,  justly  condemned.     It  cannot  be  denied, 


136  LIFE  OF  BR.  M-CRIE. 

<•'  If  I  had  drawn  up  these  remarkr.,"'  says  jMr.  M'Crif , 
in  answer  to  a  fViend  who  liad  liinted  liis  dissatisfac- 
tion with  them,  "I  might  not  have  expressed  the 
matter  so  strongly,  or  might  perhaps  have  introduced 
an  additional  caution.  But  after  all,  as  drawn,  I 
cannot  say  that  1  disapprove  of  any  part  of  them, 
though  if  you  had  pointed  out  any  particular  which 
displeased  you,  I  might  have  altered  my  opinion. 
But  I  rather  suppose  it  is  a  certain  something  per- 
vading the  whole,  which  you  think  should  not  have 
been  there.  Wiiatever  good  has  been  done,  (and  it  is 
not  denied  that  good  has  been  done,)  whatever  devils 
have  been  cast  out,  that  was  done,  not  by  the  devil, 
but  by  God.  But  it  was  the  work  in  general, 
especially  the  uncommon  form  which  it  assumed, 
which  was  the  point  in  question.  Was  it  from  hea- 
ven or  not?  Was  it  the  Spirit  of  God,  or  was  it 
another  spirit,  that  caused  those  strange  and  awful 
bodily  and  mental  convulsions?  It  will  not,  I  ima- 
gine, be  satisfactory,  merely  to  allow  irregularities, 
and  then  denominate  it  a  good  work — a  revival  of 
religion.  If  the  editors,  therefore,  were  to  give  any 
"  certain  sound  "  for  the  direction  of  their  readers,  I 
do  not  see  what  other  opinion  they  could  have  given. 
Delicacy  and  reverence,  it  is  true,  are  requisite,  as  to 
every  thing  that  may  aficct  the  work  of  the  Spirit  in 
the  point  you  mention;  but  is  there  not  equal  neces- 

that,  in  tlieir  seal  for  Ihe  lionour  of  injured  tnitli.tliey  may  have 
deserved  tlie  reproof  which  a  better  man  than  Eldad  or  Medad 
received,  for  finding  fault  with  them,  "  Enviest  thou  for  my 
sake  ?"  I  have  been  informed,  on  good  authority,  tliat  Mr.  Adant 
Gib,  to  whose  influence  probably  may  be  ascribed  the  tartness 
which  appears  in  any  public  documents  on  this  point,  regretted, 
before  liis  deatli,  that  he  had  written  so  keenly  concerning  that 
work  in  his  pamphlet  against  Whitefield.  It  is  but  fair  to  add, 
that  the  Seceders  lamented  the  extravagancies  which  appeared 
on  that  occasion,  chiefly  as  calculated  to  throw  discredit  on  the 
real  work  of  the  Spirit  in  llie  reviving  of  religion,  for  which 
none  prayed  more  devoutly  than  tliey;  and  that  tiiey  dreaded, 
not  without  reason,  that  it  might  liave  the  effect  of  reconciling 
good  men  in  that  Church  to  abuses  radically  pernicious,  and  to 
the  continuance  of  an  ecclesiastical  policy,  manifestly  incom- 
patible with  a  general  or  permanent  revival  of  pietj'  in  tlic  land. 


A^IERICAN  REVIVALS.  137 

sity  of  attention  on  another  quarter — T  mean  as  to 
the  imputing  of  a  work  to  Him  that  is  inconsistent 
with  his  nature  or  manner  of  operation,  or  suffering 
such  an  imputation?  In  one  respect,  there  is  a  more 
urgent  call  to  declare  against  this  at  present,  than 
there  was  in  the  days  of  our  fathers  as  to  the  business 
at  Cambuslang.  Infidels  are  greatly  multiplied,  and 
are  ready  to  make  a  dexterous  handle  of  this  against 
all  revealed  religion  and  all  seriousness.  Besides, 
the  remarks  do  very  sparingly  attribute  a  share  of 
this  work  to  the  devil,  and  1  thought  were  rather 
open  to  the  objection  of  ascribing  too  much  to  natu- 
ral causes  and  animal  mechanism.  I  shall  only  add 
farther,  that  the  late  venerable  Dr.  Erskine,  who  in 
this  cause  was  omni  exceptione  major,  perused  the 
remarks  among  the  last  things  he  read,  and  signified 
his  acquiescence  in  them." 

In  the  following  list  of  his  historical  contributions 
to  the  Christian  Magazine,  the  reader  will  easily  dis- 
cover the  germs  of  some  of  our  author's  subsequent 
works.  In  September  1802,  appears  a  translation  of 
Principal  Smeton's  "  Account  of  the  concluding  jiart 
of  the  Life  and  the  Death  of  that  illustrious  man, 
John  Knox,  the  most  faithful  Restorer  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland;"— in  July  1S03,  a  "Memoir  of  Mr. 
John  Murray,"  minister  of  Leith  and  Dunfermline, 
in  the  beginning  of  the  17th  century; — in  Novem- 
ber 1803,  "  A  Sketch  of  the  Progress  of  the  Refor- 
mation in  Spain,  with  an  account  of  the  Spanisli 
Protestant  Martyrs;"  which  is  followed,  in  January 

1804,  with  "  The  Suppression  of  the  Reformation  in 
Spain;" — in    October,   November,    and    December, 

1805,  "  The  Life  of  Dr.  Andrew  Rivet,"  a  French 
Protestant  Divine; — in  January  1S06,  "  The  Life  of 
Patrick  Hamilton,  the  Proto-Martyr  of  the  Reforma- 
tion in  Scotland; — in  February  1806,  "The  Life  of 
Francis  Lambert  of  Avignon;" — and  in  five  num- 
bers, from  June  to  October  of  the  same  year,  "  The 
liife  of  Alexander  Henderson." 

The  most  important  of  these  communications  is 
12' 


138  ■  LIFE  OP  DR.  Mk'RIEi 

the  Life  of  Henderson,  which,  though  the  last  on  the 
list,  and  never  made  tlie  subject  of  a  separate  work, 
very  early  engaged  his  attention,  and  was  in  fact  his 
first  essay  in  biography.  TJie  following  references 
to  it  occur  in  his  correspondence  with  Mr.  Bruce; 
March  14,  1803. — "For  some  time  past  I  have  had 
my  eye  towards  a  sketch  of  the  life  of  Mr.  Alexander 
Henderson.  But  reverence  for  the  greatness  of  his 
character,  and  a  conviction  of  inability  to  do  justice 
to  it,  have  kept  me  from  doing  any  thing  except 
marking  down  a  few  references  to  authorities  and 
facts."  Jane,  1.—"  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  send 
you  the  memoirs  of  Mr.  Henderson.  1  have  got  him 
as  yet  no  farther  than  Dunst-lnw^  my  native  hill.  I 
procured  from  a  library  here  Rovv's  History  of  the 
Kirk  of  Scotland,  to  search  for  information  as  to  the 
early  period  of  his  ministry.  But  I  met  with  otiier 
things  there  which  attracted  my  attention,  and  kejDt 
me  extracting  now  and  then  for  some  weeks,  and  my 
original  purpose  has  been  allowed  to  sleep."  JS^von- 
ber  16. — "I  trouble  you  with  another  packet.  You 
must  not  exclaim  as  Pope  did,  for  it  is  neither  ''a 
virgin  tragedy  "  nor  an  '"orphan  nuise"  which  solicits 
your  revisal,  correction  and  jiatronage,  but  a  rude 
"  tale  of  other  times,"  which  you  may  tliink  it  worth 
while  to  read,  but  which  will  be  condemned  as  dry 
^nd  puritanical  (if  not  treasonable)  b_y  the  public." 
JJccember  7. — "  As  to  the  separate  publication^  (pub- 
lishing it  in  a  separate  volume,)  1  cannot  say.  The 
taste  of  the  times  is  very  opposite  to^ny  thing  of  the 
kind,  and  I  ought  not  to  think  that  any  feeble  effort 
of  mine  can  work  a  change.  However,  as  you  have 
suggested  this,  I  shall  use  the  freedom  of  mentioning 
to  you  a  floating  idea  whicii  has  sometimes  passed 
through  my  mind,  without  ever  assuming  the  for- 
mality of  a  resolution  or  design,  namely,  a  selection 
of  Lives  of  Scottish  Reformers  in  some  such  order  as 
to  embrace  the  most  important  periods  of  the  history 
■of  the  Church  of  Scotland;  in  which  a  number  o^f 
'facts  which  are  reckoned  too  minute  aixl  trivial  fo<f' 


LrTERAnr  projects.  139 

general  history  might  be  brought  to  bear  upon  and 
occasionally  illustrate  it.  The  order,  for  instance, 
might  be,  (I  write  merely  from  the  recollection  of 
the  moment,)  Patrick  Hamilton,  George  Wishart, 
John  Knox,  John  Craig,  Andrew  Melville,  Patrick 
Simpson,  Robert  Bruce,  &c.  This  I  mention  merely 
vvith  a  view  of  having  your  opinion.  As  I  never 
formed  the  purpose,  so,  if  undertaken,  it  would  only 
be  executed  gradually  and  at  leisure.  I  have  made 
no  preparations,  except  marking  down  an  incidental 
fact  or  authority  .as  they  occurred  in  course  of  com- 
mon reading.  You  will  not  give  your  approbation  to 
the  thought,  unless  after  being,  upon  reflection,  satis- 
fied with  it;  for  your  judgment  will  have  weight  in 
turning  my  mind  to  the  subject,  and  may  involve 
youi'self  in  trouble  such  as  you  have  already  expe- 
rienced." 

In  reply  to   this  suggestion  INIr.  Bruce  says,  with 
■characteristic  caution,  {December  27,  1803,)  "I  have 
•not   yet    duly   pondered   the    admonition,  that  '  of 
making  (and  of  reading)  many  books  there  is  no  end.' 
Often  have  I  been  wearying  the  flesh  alternately  in 
both,  and  am  not  yet  thoroughly  delivered  from  the 
''sore  evil.'     I  am  not,  therefore,  the  fittest  hand  to 
advise  others.     The  compilations  you  hint  at  have  a 
fiiir  prospect  of  usefulness,  and  one   can   hardly  be 
engaged  in  such  a  design  without  reaping  benefit  to 
himself  sufllcient  to  repay  his  labour;  you  have  also 
a  favourable  opportunity  above  many  from  your  situ- 
ation for  carrying  on  such  researches.    I  would  wish 
■them  success;  but  knowing  how  many  literary  pro- 
.jects  have  floated  in  my  mind  or  engaged  ni}'  studies 
'for  a  time,  that  must  prove  aboi'tive,  and  for  fear  you 
■should  impose  too   heavy  a  task  on   yourself,  I  dare 
tiot  be  too  urgent."    This  seems  to  have  damped  our 
•Ruthor's  project;  for   in   February  lSO-1,  he  replies, 
'**  What  1   mentioned  to  you  in  regard  to  a  series  of 
•biographical  sketches  was  but  a  floating  idea.     Upon 
■•second   thoughts   the  difliculties  of  it  appeared   so 
.^reat  as  to  suppress  any  hope  of  carrying  it  into  exe- 


140  LIFE  OF  DR.  :\i'cr.iE. 

cution.  All  that  I  can  propose  to  do  is  to  jot  down 
any  thing  that  may  occur  in  the  course  of  reading,  i 
liave  even  laid  aside  the  sketch  which  I  had  finished." 
In  point  of  fact,  the  memoir  of  Henderson  did 
not  appear  till  two  years  afterwards;  and  I  am  dis- 
posed to  think  it  would  not  have  been  published  even 
then,  had  not  an  absolute  dearth  of  materials  for  the 
Magazine,  a  calamity  too  well  known  to  editors  of 
such  periodicals,  compelled  him  to  draw  very  largely 
on  his  own  resources.  It  has  often  been  lamented 
that  he  did  not  devote  himself,  in  a  separate  and 
enlarged  work,  to  the  life  and  times  of  Alexander 
Henderson.  This  he  certainly,  at  one  time,  contem- 
plated ;  but  before  he  reached  that  period  in  his  his- 
torical career,  his  bodily  strength  was  too  much 
exhausted  to  admit  of  his  bestowing  that  degree  of 
labour  and  research  which,  in  his  view,  the  history  of 
Henderson's  life  demanded.  To  supply,  as  far  as 
possible,  what  must  still  be  considered  a  desideratum, 
it  is  proposed  to  republish,  in  the  volume  of  his 
Miscellaneous  Works,  the  series  of  papers  as  they 
appeared  in  the  Christian  Magazine,  flaking  allow- 
ances for  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  com- 
posed and  published,  this  sketch,  viewed  as  a  first 
effort,  will  not,  it  is  hoped,  be  considered  unworthy 
of  the  author  of  Knox,  and  may  serve  at  least  as  a 
record  of  his  sentiments  on  that  interesting  portion 
of  our  ecclesiastical  history. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Whytock  left  him  sole  editor  of 
this  Miscellany,  during  the  year  1806  ;  and  owing  to 
the  peculiar  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed 
with  his  brethren,  many  of  whom  ceased  their  con- 
tributions, the  task  of  superintendence  became  ns 
delicate  as  it  was  laborious.  He  was  glad,  at  the 
close  of  the  year,  to  escape  from  the  thankless  employ- 
ment, which  had  occupied  too  much  of  his  time,  and 
wiiich  he  took  care  never  to  resume  at  any  future 
period. 

F'rom  the  manuscripts  which  he  has  left,  it  appears 
that  he  was  the  author  of  a  small  pamplilet  in  1807, 


LETTER  ON  THE  CATHOLIC  BILL.  141 

entitled,  "Letters  on  the  late  Catholic  Bill,  and  the 
Discussions  to  which  it  has  given  rise:  Addressed 
to  British  Protestants,  and  chiefly  Presbyterians  in 
Scotland.  By  a  Scots  Presbyterian."  The  bill  here 
referred  to  was  that  introduced  by  Lord  Howick, 
(afterwards  Earl  Grey,)  the  real  object  of  which  was 
to  admit  Roman  Catholics  to  places  of  command  in 
the  army  and  navy,  and  had  excited  keen  discussions 
throughout  the  empire.  In  these  our  author  felt  a 
deep  interest.  The  result  of  his  inquiries  into  the 
civil  and  religious  history  of  his  country,  was  a  set- 
tled conviction  of  the  lawfulness  and  necessity  of 
those  barriers  which  our  ancestors  had  raised  to 
oppose  the  aggressive  and  domineering  spirit  of  Po- 
pery. With  our  ablest  legislators  at  the  time,  he 
saw  in  the  measure  then  proposed,  the  commence- 
ment of  a  series  of  concessions  which  would  ulti- 
mately sweep  these  barriers  away,  when  "  Parliament 
would  have  that  extorted  from  its  weakness  which  its 
wisdom  would  be  desirous  to  withhold.*'  The  fol- 
lowing extract  from  the  pamphlet,  may  serve  as  a 
specimen  to  identify  the  author,  and  as  a  record  of 
his  early  sentiments  on  this  point,  which  he  pre- 
served to  the  end  of  his  life. 

"  Whatever  skeptical  politicians  and  indifferentists 
may  think,  religion  and  civil  i)olity  are  intimately 
connected,  nor  will  any  wise  legislator  be  indifferent 
about  the  concerns  of  the  former.  Religion  lies  at 
the  foundation  of  good  government,  and  is  its  firmest 
support.  The  most  enlightened  nations,  in  ancient 
or  modern  times,  have  made  it  a  primary  object  of 
legislation,  and  its  public  support  and  maintenance 
among  them  have  been  secured  by  fundamental  laws. 
Li  Britain,  the  legal  maintenance  of  the  Protestant 
religion,  with  security  to  its  professors  against  the 
tyranny  and  perfidy  of  Roman  Catholics,  has,  from 
the  era  of  the  Reformation,  been  a  principal  object 
of  policy.  The  laws  enacted  for  this  purpose  have 
been  viewed  as  an  important  part  of  our  constitution, 
and  as  connected  with  the  preservation  of  our  lil)erties, 


142  LIFE  OF  DR.  isr'cniE. 

civil  and  religious.  As  it  is  the  official  duty  of  le- 
gislators to  guard  the  religious  rights  and  privileges 
of  the  nation,  so  it  becomes  the  people  to  exercise  a 
higher  degree  of  zeal  and  vigilance  respecting  these. 
If  ever  the  time  shall  come  in  which  both  shall  resign 
themselves  to  indifference  about  them,  the  ruin  of 
Britain  will  not  be  far  distant.  Nor  are  there  want- 
ing symptoms  of  this  spirit  at  the  present  period, 
when  the  sense  of  religion  upon  the  minds  of  all 
classes  of  men  is  so  weak;  and  when  so  many  seem 
to  regard  all  religions  as  equal,  and  represent  it  as  a 
matter  of  no  moment,  at  least  in  a  political  view,  of 
what  religion  a  man  may  be,  or  whether  he  has  any 
religion  at  all." 

To  this  we  may  add  his  opinion  of  the  Whig 
Ministry,  by  whom  the  bill  was  proposed: — "Against 
the  late  ministers  I  had  no  prejudice,  nor  have  I  any 
desire  to  harass  them,  after  they  have  retired,  or  been 
driven  from  office.  The  character  of  their  adminis- 
tration must  not  be  risked  upon  the  Catholic  bill,  but 
upon  other  and  less  questionable  measures;  particu- 
larly on  their  exertions  for  abolishing,  what  has  long 
been  Britain's  disgrace,  the  infamous  African  slave- 
traffic,  for  which  they  have  already  obtained  the 
approbation  of  the  wisest  and  best  part  of  the  na- 
tion, and  may  look  for  the  applause  of  posterity. 
Of  their  talents  for  the  station  which  they  occupied 
I  have  been  accustomed  to  entertain  a  high  estima- 
tion, and  of  their  public  spirit  and  regard  to  national 
liberties  I  am  still  disposed  to  indulge,  upon  the 
whole,  a  favourable  opinion.  But  this  cannot  pre- 
vent me  from  expressing  my  disapprobation  of  their 
late  bill,  and  of  its  principles  in  the  extent  to  which 
they  have  applied  them;  and  as  this  judgment  has 
been  formed  independently  of  the  influence  of  all 
parties  and  factions,  political  or  ecclesiastical,  I  must 
be  allowed  to  express  it  with  the  freedom  of  a  Bri- 
tish Protestant  and  Scottish  Presbyterian."  It  had 
been  the  intention  of  the  author  to  prosecute  the  sub- 
ject in  a  series  of  letters,  the  different  topics  of  which 


ILL  HEALTH.  143 

he  announces;  but  whether  from  finding  that  the  pub- 
lic interest  in  the  question  had  abated  in  consequence 
of  the  bill  being  thrown  out,  or  from  despairing  of 
any  thing  being  done  to  arrest  the  current  of  popular 
opinion  in  favour  of  the  measure,  only  one  letter  ap- 
peared, and,  so  far  as  I  know,  he  never  owned  nor 
alluded  to  the  pamphlet. 

At  this  time  his  health,  which  had  never  been  ro- 
bust, began  to  be  seriously  affected  by  the  labour,  anx- 
iety and  confinement  to  which  he  was  subjected.  He 
complains  (Dec.  17,  ISO?)  that,  owing  to  his  nume- 
rous avocations,  he  had  "for  somx  time  back,  been 
neglecting  his  own  congregation  and  Sabbath-prepa- 
ration, as  well  as  bodily  health  and  necessary  exer- 
cise." "I  cannot  say  I  have  any  formed  complaint, 
and  yet  I  am  not  well.  I  can  crawl  about,  and  would 
do  well  enough  if  people  would  let  me  alone;  but  I 
cannot  bear  to  converse.'"  After  mentioning  the  re- 
covery of  a  much  esteemed  friend  from  a  dangerous 
illness,  he  adds, " '  Death's  thousand  doors  stand  open ;' 
but  the  once  dead  and  now  living  Redeemer  holds 
the  keys  of  hell  and  of  death,  and  not  one  of  his  peo- 
ple shall  go  but  at  the  best  time,  nor  pass  by  the 
wrong  way.  Is  there  not  much  implied  in  that  ex- 
pression, 'PRECIOUS  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  is  the 
death  of  his  saints?'" 

^^  January  18, 1808. — Mr.  Hogg,  on  the  day  before 
his  death,  declared  to  three  of  his  congregation  who 
had  called  on  him,  his  great  satisfaction  with  what 
he  had  done  as  to  the  public  cause,  and  his  full  per- 
suasion of  its  being  the  cause  of  God.  He  afterwards 
desired  his  wife  to  bring  hini  a  Bible, — said  he  was 
unable  to  read,  but,  holding  it  in  his  hand,  expressed 
how  much  satisfaction  he  had  had  in  it,  and  that 
though  he  had  studied  it  all  his  days,  he  had  never 
felt  it  so  precious  as  now;  adding  to  his  wife,  '  Read 
that  book  often,  and  make  the  children  read  it.'"* 

He  was  soon  called  on  to  test  the  strength  of  these 

*  To  the  Rev.  James  Aitken. 


144  LIFE  OP  DR  M^CKIE. 

consolations  by  a  severe  domestic  bereavement,  in 
tlie  death  of  his  son  James,  an  amiable  child,  who 
had  become  doubly  endeared  to  his  parents  by  the 
sweet  resignation  with  which  he  endured  a  lingering 
illness,  and  who  died,  Nov.  9,  180.9,  in  the  eighth 
year  of  his  age.  "  My  poor  Jamie,"  he  writes  on  the 
25th  of  October  previous,  "  is  very  weakly.  I  have 
very  little  prospect  of  his  recovery.  God  speaks 
"  once,  yea  twice  "  unto  us;  yet  how  dull  are  we  and 
slow  to  hear  and  receive  instruction.  How  I  shall  be 
able  to  sustain  the  trial  which  I  sometimes  endeavour 
to  look  at,  1  know  not.  The  prospect  is  dark.  The 
Lord  can  give  light.  I  need  your  sympathy  and 
prayers.  When  the  child  died,  he  was  enabled  to 
bear  the  stroke  with  apparent  fortitude,  but  what  his 
feelings  may  have  been  I  have  it  not  in  my  power 
to  tell;  for  on  such  occasions  he  concealed  even 
from  his  own  family  the  deep  and  still  current  of 
his  emotions,  and  wept,  if  he  did  weep,  "  in  secret 
places." 

His  leisure  was  now  entirely  devoted  to  historical 
studies;  and  nothing  remarkable  occurs  in  his  history 
during  the  intervening  years,  till  the  publication  of 
the  Life  of  John  Knox. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE  PUBLICATION  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  KNOX. 
1811—1813. 

The  publication  of  the  Life  of  John  Knox  formed 
an  important  era  in  the  history  of  its  author,  and  on 
various  accounts  deserves  particular  notice  in  a  Life 
of  Dr.  M'Crie,  whose  name  has  becomeassociated  with 
that  of  the  reformer.  The  circumstances  relating  to 
the  history  of  the  work,  its  particular  character  and 
the  i^anner  of  its  execution,  the  additions  which  it 
has  made  to  the  literature  and  ecclesiastical  history  of 


INDUCEMENTS  TO  THE  UNDERTAKING.        145 

the  country,  its  connexion  with  public  interests,  and 
the  eflfects  which  it  has  already  produced,  as  well  as 
those  which  it  may  hereafter  produce  on  society, 
would  furnish  large  matter  for  observation.  Instead, 
however,  of  dwelling  on  topics  which  properly  come 
within  the  range  of  the  reviewer,  we  shall  endeavour 
to  confine  our  remarks  to  such  points  in  the  history 
and  character  of  the  work,  as  belong  more  strictly  ta 
the  biography  of  the  author. 

To  those  who  are  curious  to  know  the  circum- 
stances which  first  led  the  author  to  devote  himself 
to  historical  researches,  it  may  not  be  uninteresting 
to  mention  that  he  himself  used  to  trace  his  inquiries 
to  a  very  simple  incident  In  the  course  of  family 
visitation,  at  a  very  early  period  of  his  ministry,  he 
found  himself  puzzled  to  answer  a  question  in  our 
National  Church  history,  proposed  to  him  by  an  old 
woman  belonging  to  his  flock.  Ashamed  of  his  igno- 
rance, he  went  home  resolved  on  a  course  of  reading 
which  should  render  him  better  prepared  to  meet 
similar  queries  in  time  to  come.  From  that  day,  his 
mind  became  more  and  more  engrossed  in  his  favour- 
ite pursuits.  In  ISOO,  in  reply  to  a  friend,  who  asked 
what  he  could  do  for  him  in  London,  "  Send  me," 
he  writes,  "  any  tiling  respecting  the  history  of  the 
British  Churches."  From  his  note-books,  it  appears 
that  he  had  minutely  studied  the  history  of  Christi- 
anity in  Scotland  from  its  earliest  dawn,  in  the 
writings  of  our  most  ancient  chroniclers.  And  we 
have  already  seen,  from  the  fruits  of  his  investigations 
in  the  Christian  Magazine,  that  the  history  of  the 
Reformation  claimed  a  very  large  share  of  his  atten- 
tion before  the  year  1S06.  Mr.  Bruce  had  no  small 
influence  in  determining  him  to  biography,  as  the 
best  mode  of  eliciting  and  recommending  the  history 
of  that  period. 

In  the  preface  to  the  first  edition  of  Knox,  the 

author  briefly  adverts  to  the  motives  which  engaged 

him    in    the    undertaking.     "Though    many    able 

writers  have  employed  their  talents  in  tracing  the 

13 


146.  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

causes  and  consequences  of  the  Reformation,  and 
though  the  leading  facts  respecting  its  progress  in 
Scotland  have  been  repeatedly  stated,  it  occurred  to 
me  that  the  subject  was  by  no  means  exhausted.  I 
was  confirmed  in  this  opinion  by  a  more  minute  ex- 
amination of  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  this  country, 
which  I  began,  for  my  own  satisfaction,  several  years 
ago.  While  I  was  pleased  at  finding  that  there  ex- 
isted such  ample  materials  for  illustrating  the  his- 
tory of  the  Scottish  Reformation,  1  could  not  but 
regret  that  no  one  had  undertaken  to  digest  and  ex- 
hibit the  information  on  this  subject,  which  lay  hid 
in  manuscripts,  and  in  books  which  are  now  little 
known  or  consulted.  Not  presuming,  however,  that 
I  had  the  ability  or  the  leisure  requisite  for  executing 
a  task  of  such  difficulty  and  extent,  I  formed  the 
design  of  drawing  up  memorials  of  our  national  Re- 
former, in  which  his  personal  history  might  be  com- 
bined with  illustrations  of  the  progress  of  that  great 
undertaking,  in  the  advancement  of  which  he  acted 
so  conspicuous  a  part." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  controversy  re- 
lating to  the  religious  profession  which  he  had 
espoused,  had  no  small  influence  in  guiding  and  de- 
termining his  mind  to  the  investigations  which  issued 
in  the  production  of  this  work.  To  a  friend  who 
once  questioned  him  on  the  subject,  he  did  not  scruple 
to  avow,  that  had  it  not  been  for  "new-light,"  he 
would  probably  never  have  thought  of  writing  the 
Life  of  Knox.  He  soon  discovered  that  the  new 
principles  went  to  condemn  the  whole  plan  of  refor- 
mation pursued  by  our  ancestors;  and  it  was  "for  his 
own  satisfaction,"  on  this  important  point,  that  he  was 
led  to  prosecute  his  inquiries  into  the  history  of  the 
Scottish  Church.  It  may  be  remarked,  at  the  same 
time,  that  whatever  influence  this  controversy  may 
have  had  in  directing  his  studies,  he  has  never  availed 
himself  of  the  numerous  opportunities  which  his  narra- 
tive afforded  him  of  adverting  to  the  party  contentions 
in  which  he  had  been  so  lately  involved,  or  of  resent- 


INDUCEMENTS  TO  THE  UNDERTAKING.  147 

ing,  even  by  an  incidental  expression,  the  personal 
treatment  which  he  had  received. 

At  what  precise  time  lie  "formed  the  design  of 
drawing  up  memorials  of  our  National  Reformer," 
I  am  unable  to  say,  and  probably  he  himself  could 
not  have  given  a  particular  account  of  the  circum- 
stances which  first  suggested  the  idea.  Though  his 
materials  had  been  long  accumulating,  it  does  not 
appear  from  his  correspondence  that  he  had  com- 
menced the  work  of  composition,  till  after  the  publi- 
cation of  the  Statement  in  1807.  He  informs  us  in 
the  preface,  that  he  was  "encouraged  to  prosecute  his 
design,  in  consequence  of  his  possessing  a  manuscript 
volume  of  Knox's  Letters,  which  throw  considerable 
light  upon  his  character  and  history."  This  valuable 
collection,  which  he  procured  from  Mr.  Maurice  Ogle 
of  Glasgow,  did  not  come  into  his  possession  till  after 
the  period  now  mentioned. 

But  though  thus  invited  into  the  field  of  historic 
inquiry,  he  soon  found  it  to  possess  charms,  inde- 
pendent of  the  satisfaction  which  it  imparted  to  his 
mind  on  the  question  referred  to.  The  course  of  his 
investigations  brought  before  his  view  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  "looking  forth,  as  in  the  morning  of  her 
day,  fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as 
an  army  with  banners;"*  and  the  impression  pro- 
duced was  ineffaceable.  The  sad  changes  which  time 
and  defection  had  wrought  in  her  modern  representa- 
tive, and  which  had  made  others  turn  from  her  in 
despair,  or  seek  her  subversion,  only  served  to  en- 
hance in  his  mind  the  admiration  which  her  primitive 
purity  and  worth  had  awakened;  and  what  attracted 
him  to  the  task  of  writing  the  life  of  the  Reformer 
was,  not  merely  a  desire  to  vindicate  his  memory 
from  the  reproach  under  which  it  had  so  long  lain, 
or  a  taste  for  describing  what  is  interesting  in  inci- 
dent and  character,  but  a  profound  conviction  of  the 
divine  truth  of  the  principles  which  Knox  had 
espoused,  and  of  the  importance  of  the  work  in  which 

*  Dr.  M'Crie's  Sermons,  p.  34G. 


148  LIFE  OP  DR.  M'CRIE. 

he  performed  so  conspicuous  a  part.  "  I  had  read," 
he  said,  not  many  years  ago,  "  1  had  read  the  deeds 
of  her  reformers  and  confessors,  at  first,  with  mere 
youthful  curiosity.  It  was  not  until  I  had  satisfied 
myself  that  the  system  of  doctrine  and  discipline  they 
introduced  was  not  more  consonant  to  the  oracles  of 
truth  than  it  was  conducive  to  the  best  interests, 
temporal  and  spiritual,  of  the  nation,  that  I  minutely 
studied  their  history.  Then,  I  confess,  the  fire  began 
to  burn,  and  1  could  not  forbear  to  impart  to  others 
what  I  myself  had  felt.  If  my  writings  have  com- 
mended themselves  in  any  degree  to  any  person,  it 
is  not  owing  to  any  talents  or  labour  of  mine  bestowed 
on  them,  but  solely  to  the  feeling  I  have  now  ex- 
pressed— a  feeling  of  admiration,  not  for  the  men, 
.(for  they  are  deceased,  and  have  given  in  their  ac- 
counts,) but  for  the  grace  and  gifts  with  which  God 
endowed  them,  and  the  fabric  which  they  were 
honoured  to  rear."* 

Among  the  causes  which  gave  birth  to  this  work, 
and  contributed  to  its  success,  we  cannot  overlook 
the  peculiar  cast  of  the  author's  mind,  and  the  con- 
geniality of  his  sentiments  with  those  of  the  Scottish 
Reformers.  With  a  keen  eye  for  the  discernment 
of  human  character,  he  certainly  possessed  that  turn 
for  description,  which,  in  the  historian,  as  in  the 
painter,  must  be  considered  a  natural  gift,  indicating 
the  presence  of  what  Johnson  calls  "a  large  general 
power,  wholly  determined  to  some  particular  direc- 
tion." As  a  Seceder,  he  was  pledged  to  the  approval 
of  the  principles  on  which  the  Reformation  was 
founded;  and  in  his  private  judgment,  matured  by 
years  and  close  investigation,  he  coincided,  in  every 
material  point,  with  the  opinions  of  its  founders. 
While  the  great  doctrines  of  the  Cross  occupied  as 
high  a  place  in  his  esteem  as  they  did  in  the  standards 
of  the  reformed  churches,  he  was  a  decided  friend  to 
the  ecclesiastical  polity  of  the  Scottish  Church,  and 

*  From  a  Speech  delivered  at  a  meeting  of  the  Anti-patronage . 
Society,  December  2, 1833. 


METHOD  OF  COMPOSITION.  149 

the  plans  pursued  by  her  rulers  both  in  the  first  and 
second  periods  of  her  reformation.  In  his  political 
as  well  as  his  polemical  views,  he  was  like-minded 
with  the  subject  of  his  biography;  and  even  in  the 
general  tone  of  his  character,  there  was  some  striking 
points  of  harmony  between  him,  and  the  upright  dis- 
interested and  intrepid  champion  of  the  Reformation. 
In  short,  it  is  certain  that  in  studying  the  history  of 
the  Reformers,  "he  sj^mpathized  with  them  in  their 
sufferings,  their  anxieties,  their  struggles,  and  their 
triumphs."*  It  is  easy  to  see  that,  with  such  qualifi- 
cations, he  was  prepared  to  execute  his  task  con  amore; 
that  with  him  it  was  truly  a  work  and  labour  of  love; 
and  that  all  the  powers  of  the  artist  must  have  been 
summoned  to  do  justice  to  a  subject,  which  had  already 
won  the  affections  of  the  man. 

This  may  be  the  proper  place  for  noticing  his 
method  of  composition,  which  was  in  some  respects 
peculiar.  After  a  course  of  reading,  during  which  he 
collected  his  materials,  arranged  in  the  form  of  notes, 
and  references  on  the  various  topics  to  be  intro- 
duced, his  practice  was  to  commence  at  once  the 
work  of  composition,  as  if  preparing  for  the  press. 
He  seldom  wrote  out  any  sketch  or  rude  draft  of  his 
subject.  Having  discovered  the  mine,  he  sunk  his 
shaft,  and  explored  the  veins  of  historical  information 
as  he  went  along;  so  that  the  plan  of  the  intended 
book  was  gradually  worked  out,  after  having  gone  over 
the  ground  and  made  himself  completely  master  of 
the  subject.  It  is  obvious  that  what  he  gained  by 
such  a  method  in  point  of  precision,  he  must  have 
lost  in  facility  and  despatch.  In  truth,  he  composed 
slowly,  and  frequently  complained  of  being  "  ham- 
pered" in  finding  expressions  to  please  himself,  and 
in  disposing  of  his  materials.  Most  of  his  manuscript 
was  re-composed  more  than  once,  before  committing 
it  to  the  press,  and  exhibited  in  its  innumerable 
eniendations,  a  curious  specimen  of  the  miilta  dies  el 

*  Presbyterian  Review  for  March  183G,  p.  4. 
13* 


150  LIFE  OP  DR.  M'CRIE. 

mttlla  litura  of  the  poet.  The  last  copy  was  too  often 
written  after  going  to  press.  "  I  have  every  word  of 
it  to  write,"  he  says  of  one  of  his  works,  "as  it  goes 
to  the  printer,  and  the  greater  part  of  what  has  been 
.printed  has  been  newly  composed.  This  is  a  very 
preposterous  course;  but  I  have  got  a  vicious  habit, 
that  I  can  do  nothing  until  1  am  pushed,  and  accord- 
ingly it  is  not  done  till  the  last  moment.  Video 
meliora,"  &c.  The  "pushing"  to  which  he  here  re- 
fers, was  perhaps  necessary  in  some  measure  to  aid 
in  the  production  of  his  thoughts,  which  instead  of 
flowing  easily  from  his  mind,  seem  to  have  been 
obtained,  like  some  essential  oils,  by  a  species  of 
mental  compression.  This  mode  of  composition,  too, 
may  have  had  its  own  use,  in  concentrating  his  mind, 
and  obliging  him,  instead  of  groping  after  materials 
to  fill  up  a  projected  scheme,  to  grapple  with  his 
facts,  one  by  one,  as  he  approached  them.*  "You 
speak,"  he  says  to  one  of  his  correspondents  in  April 
1810,  "of  going  to  press,  and  getting  through  it,  as 
if  you  had  found  it  an  easy  thing,  or,  shall  1  say,  as 
one  that  never  tried  it.  So  far  from  being  well 
through,  I  have  not  yet  looked  it  in  the  face — have 
been  employed  all  winter  in  collecting  materials,  and 
now  and  then  filling  up  a  blank.  I  am  not  a  bit 
nearer  the  end  than  wiien  you  saw  me.  I  would 
never  make  my  bread  by  making  books,  as  some 
have  done."  On  October  15th  of  the  same  year,  he 
writes,  "I  have  not  yet  gone  to  press  with  Knox. 
A  fact  or  two,  near  the  beginning  of  the  Life,  which 
I  wish  to  ascertain,  keeps  me  back."  On  the  30th 
November  ISll,  he  sends  his  correspondent  a  copy 
of  the  work,  with  these  remarks:  "The  booksellers 
say  that  the  edition  will  sell.  I  am  sorry  that  the 
price  fixed  on  it  is  so  high,  as  to  put  it  out  of  the 

*"  Mallet,  I  believe,  never  wrote  a  single  line  of  his  projected 
Life  of  the  Duke  uf  Marlborough.  He  groped  for  materials;  and 
thought  of  it  till  he  had  exhausted  his  mind.  Thus  its&aielimes 
happens  that  men  entangle  themselves  in  their  own  schemes." — 
JoJiiison,  in  BoswcU's  Life,  vol.  iii.,  p.  3G8. 


PUBLICATION  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  KNOX.  151 

power  of  a  large  class  of  readers  to  purchase  it, 
■especially  as  they  are  the  persons  who  may  be  sup- 
posed to  have  the  greatest  relish  for  the  main  sub- 
ject. But  owing  to  the  size  of  the  book,  and  the 
additional  expense  incurred  by  alterations  which  1 
often  found  it  necessary  to  make  upon  the  proof- 
sheets,  it  could  not,  I  believe,  be  afforded  cheaper. 
Even  though  it  should  all  sell,  the  half  of  the  profits 
(which  was  allotted  to  me)  will  not  exceed  three- 
pence per  copy."''^ 

Tiie  first  edition  of  the  Life  was  published  in  one 
volume  octavo,  November  181  l.f  John  Knox  pre- 
sented his  antique  and  ungracious  visage  before  the 
public  for  some  time,  without  attracting  general  atten- 
tion. The  author  himself,  as  may  appear  from  the 
extract  given  above,  was  far  from  anticipatingthe  fame 
which  it  soon  acquired;  and  was  left  to  guess  its  fate 
from  the  familiar  criticisms  of  his  friends,  in  which 
praise  and  censure  were  blended  according  to  the 
peculiar  views  and  temperc  of  the  writers.  To  these 
I  find  him  humorously  alluding,  Feb.  1812,  in  answer 
to  the  charge  brought  by  some  zealous  old  Presby- 
terian,of  having  made  too  many  concessions  tomodern 
liberality: — "1  was  much  obliged  to  you  for  sending 
the  extract  from  your  friend's  letter  respecting  thtj 
Life  of  Knox.  Flattery  is  dangerous:  pure  unmin- 
gled  praise  cloys  tiie  appetite,  and  needs  not  only  to 
be  repeated,  but  increased;  and  indiscriminate  appro- 
bation is  suspicious.  The  vanity  of  authors,  how- 
ever, will  extract  praise  even  out  of  the  censures 
passed  on  them,  and  will  congratulate  themselves 
with  the  fond  idea  that  they  are  right,  when  per- 
sons, on  opposite  sides,  are  pronouncing  them 
wrong.     When  your  letter  came   to   hand,    1    had 

*  To  the  Rev.  James  Aitkcn. 

t  "  This  day  is  published  by  John  Ogle  and  William  Black- 
wood, handsomely  printed  in  one  large  volume  octavo,  price 
]-2s.  boards,  The  Life  of  John  Knox:  (containing  Illustrations  of 
the  History  of  the  Reformation  in  Scotland,  &,c.)  By  Thomas 
M'Crie,  Minister  of  the  Gospel,  Edinbureh." — Evening  CouranU 
:Nov.  18,  Idll. 


152  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CUIE. 

received  a  critique  (from  a  thorough-paced  new-light 
writer)  in  the  Scripture  Mdgaziyie,^  in  which  I  was 
accused  of  betraying  ignorance  of  the  spirit  of  the 
Gospel,  proceeding  upon  Old  Testament  ideas,  and 
vindicating  reformation  by  carnal  weapons.  After 
reading  your  correspondent's  animadversions,  you 
need  not  doubt  that  I  soothed  myself  with  the  old 
adase.  In  medio  tutissimus  ibisy  Testimonials  to 
the  value  of  the  Life  soon  poured  in  upon  him  from 
various  quarters,  some  of  them  from  the  first  literary 
characters  of  the  time;  among  the  rest  he  was  highly 
gratified  by  receiving  a  flattering  commendation  of 
the  work  from  his  old  favourite  professor,  Mr.  Dugald 
Stewart,  who  frequently  paid  him  a  visit,  when  he 
came  to  town.  But  none  of  these  testimonials  af- 
forded him  more  sincere  satisfaction  than  that  which 
he  received  from  his  revered  friend,  Mr.  Bruce. 
"You  need  not  doubt,"  he  writes  to  him,  December 
11,  1811,  "that  your  approbation  of  Knox's  Life 
is  gratifying  to  me.  Although  I  know  that  you  love 
not  flattery,  I  cannot  expect  the  same  approbation 
will  come  from  other  quarters.  If  I  have  been  able 
to  do  any  justice  to  the  Scottish  Reformation  and 
Reformers,  it  may,  in  a  very  great  degree,  be  ascribed 
to  your  example  and  influence;  as  you  first  directed 

"  This  periodical  was  conducted  on  the  principles  of  the  Bap- 
tists. It  is  curious  to  observe  how  the  pietism  of  this  respecta- 
ble class  of  people  had  led  them  round,  by  a  very  different  route 
indeed,  to  the  tenets  of  high-cliurch  toryism.  The  British  Critic 
himself",  in  his  zeal  for  the  divine  right  of  kings,  could  not  be 
more  explicit  in  charging  the  reformers  with  the  crime  of  re- 
bellion, than  these  Baptists  were,  in  their  zeal  for  their  favourite 
principle;  which  seemed  to  be,  that  Christianity  does  not  war- 
rant its  followers  to  seek  its  promotion  by  contending  for  their 
civil  liberties,  because  this  contest  necessarily  requires  the  use 
of  carnal  weapons.  They  say  that,  "  In  his  letter  to  the  nobility, 
Knox  in  fact  urges  them  to  rebellion.  An  apostle  would  have 
exhorted  the  believers  in  Scotland,  to  honour  the  king  wliiJe 
they  feared  God.''  In  pleading  the  cause  of  the  ruined  nifi- 
nasteries,  they  outstrip  even  the  antiquaries.  '■  However  br- 
neficial  the  consequences  may  have  been  to  tliis  country,  we 
consider  his  preaching  in  the  Catliedrals,  and  piocuring  the 
demolition  of  the  jjopish  ediiiccs,  as  rclidliou  against  the  gu- 
vcrnmcnt!" 


CRITICISMS  ON  THE  LIFE  OP  KNOX,  153 

my  attention  to  the  subject,  and  from  your  conversa- 
tion and  writings  I  received  many  of  tlie  hints  of 
which  I  have  availed  myself. — 1  perceive  a  number 
of  Latinisms  and  Scotticisms,  and  even  grammatical 
blunders,  which  had  escaped  me.  But  provided  any 
due  measure  of  justice  is  done  to  the  principles  of 
the  work  by  the  literary  censors,  I  shall  endeavour 
to  bear  patiently  their  castigations  of  the  style." 

What  first  brought  the  Life  of  Knox  into  notice, 
and  paved  the  way  for  its  popularity,  was  the  flatter- 
ing criticism  of  the  work  in  the  Edinburgh  Review 
for  July  1813.  In  this  able  article,  which  was  well 
understood  to  come  from  the  pen  of  the  ingenious  and 
talented  Editor,  the  merits  and  general  principles  of 
the  work  were  fully  discussed  and  highly  applauded, 
and  the  author's  vindication  of  Knox  was  pronounced 
decidedly  successful,  The  first  impression  generally 
produced  on  the  readers  of  the  Life  was  a  feeling  of 
surprise,  occasioned  by  the  entirely  new  light  in 
which  the  subject  had  been  represented,  and  con- 
siderably enhanced  by  the  previous  obscurity  of  the 
author:  a  feeling  to  which  the  reviewer,  after  advert- 
ing to  the  previous  notions  entertained  of  the  Refor- 
mer, gives  expression  in  the  following  paragraph, 
which  may  be  quoted  as  containing  his  general 
opinion  of  the  work: — "How  unfair,  and  how  mar- 
vellously incorrect  these  representations  are,  may  be 
Jearned  from  the  perusal  of  the  work  before  us; — a 
work  which  has  afforded  us  more  amusement  and 
more  instruction,  than  any  thing  we  ever  read  upon 
the  subject;  and  which,  independent  of  its  theological 
merits,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  by  far  the 
best  piece  of  history  which  has  appeared  since  the 
commencement  of  our  critical  career.  It  is  extremely 
accurate,  learned  and  concise,  and  at  the  same  time 
full  of  spirit  and  animation; — exhibiting,  as  it  appears 
to  us,  a  rare  union  of  the  patient  research  and  sober 
judgment  which  characterize  the  more  laborious 
class  of  historians,  with  the  boldness  of  thinking  and 
force  of  imagination  which  is  sometimes  substituted 


154  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

in  their  place.  It  affords  us  very  great  pleasure  to 
bear  this  public  testimony  to  the  merits  of  a  writer 
who  has  been  hitherto  unknown,  we  believe,  to  the 
literary  world  either  of  this  or  the  neighbouring 
country; — of  whom,  or  of  whose  existence,  though 
residing  in  the  same  city  with  ourselves,  it  was  never 
our  fortune  to  have  heard  till  his  volume  was  put 
into  our  hands;  and  who,  in  his  first  emergence  from 
the  humble  obscurity  in  which  he  has  pursued  the 
studies  and  performed  the  duties  of  his  profession, 
has  presented  the  world  with  a  work,  which  may  put 
so  many  of  his  contemporaries  to  the  blush,  for  the 
big  promises  they  have  broken,  and  the  vast  oppor- 
tunities they  have  neglected." 

The  Life  of  Knox  was  no  doubt  indebted,  in  some 
degree,  for  the  high  favour  which  it  met  with  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Edinburgh  Review,  to  its  literary  merits 
and  to  the  tone  of  its  political  sentiments.  It  is  but 
justice,  however,  to  add,  that  the  religious  opinions  of 
the  Reformer  are,  in  this  article,  treated  with  respect, 
that  full  credit  is  allowed  to  the  Reformation  for  its 
happy  influence  on  the  state  of  education,  and  that 
among  other  merits  of  the  work,  due  weight  is  at- 
tached to  "the  illustration  which  it  affords  of  the 
close  connexion  between  the  principles  of  religion 
and  of  civil  liberty."  Catching  the  national  enthusi- 
asm of  the  author,  the  sharp-sighted  critic  declares 
his  conviction  "that  there  is  a  natural  affinity  be- 
tween genuine  Presbyterianism  and  genuine  Whig- 
gism,"  and  "that  it  is  owing  in  a  great  measure  to 
the  influence  of  this  counteracting  cause  that  we 
have  been  saved  (if  we  are  saved)  from  the  degrada- 
tion of  the  lowest  servility."  The  only  deduction, 
indeed,  from  the  language  of  commendation,  is  made 
when  he  comes  to  speak  of  the  style  of  the  author, 
who,  he  says,  "has  given  us  rather  too  much  of  our 
national  phraseology.  The  book,  to  say  the  truth,  is 
full  of  Scotticisms,  and  frequently  deficient  in  verbal 
elegance  and  purity."  And  he  concludes  by  advising 
the  author,  "when  he  writes  again — as  we  earnestly 


THE  EDINBURGH  AND  QUARTERLY  REVIEW.      155 

hope  he  will  be  induced  to  do — to  submit  his  manu- 
script to  the  revision  of  some  slender  clerk  from  the 
south,  who  may  rectify  his  verbal  errors,  without 
premiming  to  meddle  with  his  matter." 

This  review  was  followed,  in  July  1813,  by  another, 
almost  equally  complimentary,  from  the  Quarterly 
Reviewers.     "Dr.  M'Crie,"  say  they,  "is  really  a 
great  biographer,  such  as  it  has  not  been  the  lot  of 
Knox's  equals,  or  even  his  superiors,  always  to  at- 
tain; for,  however  ably  the  characters  of  Luther  and 
Calvin  have  been  treated  in  the  general  histories  of 
their  times,  where  has  either  of  them  found  a  bio- 
grapher like  the  present?"     "Compact  and  vigor- 
ous, often  coarse,  but  never  affected,  without  tumour 
and  without  verbosity,  we  can  scarcely  forbear  to 
wonder  by  what  effort  of  taste  or  discrimination  the 
style  of  Dr.   M'Crie  has  been  preserved  so  nearly 
unpolluted   by    the   disgusting   and    circumlocutory 
nonsense  of  his  contemporaries.     Here  is  no  puling 
about  the  'interesting  sufferer,'  'the  patient  saint,' 
'the   angelic   preacher.'      Knox   is    plain    Knox,  in 
acting  and  in  suffering  always  a  hero,  and  his  story 
is  told  as  a  hero  would  wish  that  it  should  be  told, 
with  simplicity,  precision  and  force."     The  Edin- 
burgh Reviewer  complained  that  the  book  was  "full 
of  Scotticisms;"      "For  which,"  say  those  of  the 
Quarterly,  "vve  like  it  the  better.      They  are  the 
eTti,x<^p(,ov  t(,  of  a  work  so  thoroughly  national.     For 
why  should  a  Scotsman,  who  is  ashamed  of  nothing 
else  belonging  to  his  country,  be  ashamed  of  its  dia- 
lect?    It  is  to  English  what  the  Doric  was  to  pure 
Greek,  adorned  with  many  rustic  graces  which  have 
long  been  felt  and  acknowledged  in  the  poetry  of  that 
country.     Why  then  should  it  not  be  tolerated  in 
history,  especially  since  experience  has  shown  that 
no  efforts  of  their  best  writers  have  been  able  wholly 
to  avoid  it." 

The  conductors  of  the  Quarterly  could  not  be  ex- 
pected to  sympathize  in  ecclesiastical  sentiment, 
either  with  the  stern   reforming   presbyter  of  the 


156  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

north,  or  with  his  biographer.  To  both  they  awarded 
a  tribute  of  praise  equally  ample  and  discriminating; 
but  while  full  credit  was  given  to  the  author  for  can- 
dour and  research,  in  the  statement  of  facts,  ffley 
severely  condemned  the  principles  on  which  he  vin- 
dicated some  of  the  most  questionable  actions  of  the 
Reformers,  and  took  an  opportunity  of  testifying  to- 
wards the  Presbyterians  of  a  later  period,  "Hender- 
son, Gillespie,  and  their  brethren  of  the  covenant," 
those  feelings  of  contempt  which  they  had  been  in- 
duced to  forego,  or  to  qualify,  in  regard  to  Knox  and 
his  contemporaries.  These  animadversions  do  not 
appear  to  have  much  affected  our  author.  "Knox," 
he  says  to  his  former  correspondent,  "has  now  passed 
through  the  ordeal  of  the  London  Quarterly  Review, 
the  antipode  of  the  Edinburgh.  He  is  treated  with 
wonderful  lenity  and  favour.  A  strong  attack,  how- 
ever, is  made  on  the  principles  advanced  respecting 
the  assassination  of  Cardinal  lieatoun.  When  you 
write  to  Mr.  M.,  you  may  tell  him  that  lawyers  differ 
as  well  as  doctors.  He  thinks  that  I  breathe  a  dif- 
ferent spirit  from  that  of  Knox;  the  Quarterly  gen- 
tlemen, on  the  contrary,  say  that  if  I  had  'been 
alive  in  the  16th  century,  there  would  not  have  been 
so  much  heard  of  Willock  or  Rowe,  as  of  M'Crie,  as 
a  coadjutor  to  Knox' — and  that  'he  would  have  given 
his  vote  as  cheerfully  as  his  hero  to  bring  the  adul- 
teress and  murderess  to  the  block/  or  words  to  that 
purpose.*     Is  not  that  great  praise?" 

His  friend,  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson,  however,  was  not 

*  "  But  of  the  literal  subversion  of  many  noble  buildings, 
which,  perhaps  unavoidably,  took  place  in  the  course  of  this 
great  revolution,  Dr..  M'Crie  permits  himself  to  speak  with  a 
savage  and  sarcastic  triuraph,  which  evinces  how  zealous  and 
practical  a  helper  he  would  himself  have  proved  in  the  work  of 
destruction,  had  he  been  born  in  the  IGth  century.  Less,  we 
are  persuaded,  would  then  have  been  heard  of  Rowe  or  Willock, 
as  auxiliaries  of  Knox,  than  of  M'Crie." — "  Like  Knox  himself^ 
he  has  neither  a  tear  nor  a  sigh  for  Mary,  and  we  doubt  not  that 
like  him  he  would  have  voted  to  bring  the  royal  adulteress  and 
murderer,  for  such  they  both  esteem  iSr,  to  the  block," — Quar- 
Whj  Review,  vol.  ix.,  p.  421,  427. 


THE   BRITISH  CRITIC.  157 

willing  to  allow  the  English  critics  to  escape  so  easily. 
Not  contented  with  having  inserted  a  long  and  highly 
commendatory  review  of  the  Life  of  Knox  in  the 
Christian  Instructor,  he  published  two  elaborate 
papers  in  the  same  periodical,  in  reply  to  the  stric- 
tures of  the  Quarterly  Reviewers.  Many  of  my 
readers  will  recollect  how  heartily  he  improved  the 
advantage  which  the  English  critics,  in  tlicir  igno- 
rance of  Scotland  and  its  history,  had  afforded  him, 
and  with  what  nerve  he  repelled  their  attack  on  the 
Presbyterians.  There  is  reason  to  think,  that  for 
many  of  the  facts  which  he  adduces  in  these  pungent 
articles,  he  was  indebted  to  the  author  of  Knox;  but 
if  we  may  thus  account  for  the  number  and  weight 
of  the  thongs  with  which  the  scourge  was  armed, 
it  is  equally  impossible  to  mistake  the  peculiar  tact 
and  vigour  of  the  hand  by  which  it  was  wielded. 

Among  the  other  periodicals  of  the  day  in  which 
Knox  was  reviewed  more  or  less  favourably,  I  might 
mention  the  British  Critic,  the  Scottish  Review,  and 
the  Christian  Observer.  The  British  Critic  for  Oc- 
tober, November  and  December  1S13,  forms,  I  be- 
lieve, the  solitary  exception  to  the  uniform  courtesy 
and  respect  with  which  the  author  was  treated  by  the 
literary  journals.  His  work  having  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  some  devoted  admirer  of  the  divine  right  of 
Episcopacy,  he  was  accused  by  the  Reviewer,  in  no 
equivocal  terms,  of  having  garbled  his  facts,  those 
especially  which  relate  to  the  substantial  harmony 
between  the  early  Reformers  in  England  and  the 
Scottish  and  other  Reformed  Churches,  on  ecclesias- 
tical polity.  All  that  Dr.  M'Crie  had  done  to  eluci- 
date the  history  of  the  period  could  not  atone,  at  this 
critic's  tribunal,  for  the  crime  of  having  proved,  to 
the  satisfaction  of  all  reasonable  men,  that  the  super- 
intendents were  not  bishops;  and  having  ventured 
to  question  the  doctrine,  that  the  want  of  Episcopal 
ordination  necessarily  invalidates  and  nullifies  the 
orders  of  all  the  Reformed  Churches,  except  the 
English!  These  characteristics,  together  with  the 
11 


15S  UFE  OF  DR.  St'CKiLV 

tone  of  asperity  in  which  the  articles  were  written, 
differing  so  widely  from  the  liberal  and  courteous 
spirit  of  the  Quarterly  Review,  and  so  unwarranted 
by  any  ostensible  cause  of  provocation, — the  extreme 
views  held  by  the  writer  on  the  point  of  apostolical 
succession,  which  had  then  few  supporters  of  any 
name  in  England, — and,  above  all,  the  character  of 
the  authorities  quoted  against  the  author  of  the  Life, 
and  the  dogged  reliance  placed  upon  them,  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  others  by  whom  they  have  been 
repeatedly  disproved, — were  considered,  at  the  time, 
amply  sufficient  indications  that  the  review  came 
from  the  pen  of  a  Scottish  Episcopalian. 

The  established  reputation  which  the  Life  of  Knox 
has  acquired  in  the  literary  and  religious  world,  might 
serve  as  an  apology  for  not  entering  farther  here  into 
the  merits  of  the  work;  but  there  are  certain  points 
which,  as  reflecting  light  on  the  character  and  senti- 
ments of  the  author,  seem  to  come,  almost  neces- 
sarily, within  the  province  of  his  biographer.  In- 
deed, the  character  of  the  author  is  the  key  to  the 
real  character  of  the  work;  and,  owing  to  ignorance 
of  this,  or  want  of  sympathy  with  him  in  the  high 
objects  which  he  proposed  to  himself  in  the  under- 
taking, there  is  some  reason  to  believe,  that,  with  all 
the  fame  which  the  Life  of  Knox  has  acquired,  its 
peculiar  merits  are  not,  even  yet,  distinctly  and  dis- 
criminatively  appreciated  by  many  of  its  admirers. 

On  the  importance  of  the  subject  of  the  work — the 
Reformation  from  Popery — to  which  the  Life  of 
Knox  is  so  clearly  made  subservient,  and  which  was 
unquestionably  the  prevailing  object  of  regard  in  the 
author's  own  mind,  it  is  needless  to  enlarge.  Let  it 
suffice  to  say,  that  this  grand  religious  revolution  must 
be  estimated,  not  merely  by  the  numerous  abuses 
which  it  removed  from  the  Church,  but  chiefly  by 
its  relation  to  the  primitive  institute  of  Scriptural 
Christianity, — the  liiblc,  which  it  restored  to  the 
Church  for  entire  possession  and  free  circulation,  and 
reinstated  in  its  sovereignty,  to  regulate  the  faith  and 


IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  SUBJECT.        159 

the  practice  of  men;  that  the  wonders  which  it 
wrought  in  the  days  of  its  power  were  accomplished 
mainly  by  the  preaching  and  application  of  the  di- 
vine oracles;  and  that  to  the  revival  of  the  pure  doc- 
trines of  the  Gospel,  we  must  trace  the  overthrow  of 
that  system  of  complicated  iniquity,  by  which  the}'- 
had  been  so  long  rendered  nugatory  for  the  good  of 
mankind.  By  its  conformity  to  that  lofty  standard, 
must  its  appropriate  excellence  be  measured,  and  by 
its  bearings  on  the  higher  interests  of  man,  as  formed 
for  immortality,  must  its  importance  be  estimated  and 
felt.  The  subject  of  the  Reformation  thus  assumes 
a  magnitude  far  beyond  the  annals  of  art  or  science, 
or  the  ordinary  transactions  of  society,  civil  or  mili- 
tary; and  its  history,  though  worthy  of  occupying 
all  the  talents  of  the  scholar  and  the  politician,  must, 
in  order  to  be  known  as  it  ought,  be  studied  from 
higher  motives  than  the  gratification  of  an  antiqua- 
rian or  literary  curiosity. 

Those  only  who  have  paid  attention  to  the  state 
of  ecclesiastical  history  at  the  time  when  the  Life 
of  Knox  appeared,  can  duly  appreciate  the  season- 
ableness  of  such  a  work.  Since  that  period,  so  vast 
is  the  accession  that  has  been  made  to  our  historical 
knowledge,  so  much  has  been  written  on  the  Refor- 
mation, so  familiar  have  we  become  with  its  facts, 
which  have  been  made  even  to  minister  to  our  enter- 
tainment in  works  of  fiction,  that  few  in  the  present 
generation  can  conceive  how  much  we  needed,  at 
that  time,  a  suitable,  adequate  and  friendly  exhibition 
of  the  days  of  John  Knox.  The  authentic  records 
of  the  period,  hid  in  manuscripts,  or  detailed  in  the 
antiquated  and  ungainly  style  of  a  past  age,  had  be- 
come utterly  unavailable  for  the  purposes  of  general 
instruction  and  excitement.  In  the  country  at  large, 
an  infidel  spirit  was  abroad,  at  open  variance  with  the 
principles  of  the  Reformation.  Literature  and  liberty 
had,  for  the  first  time  in  Scotland,  joined  hands  with 
irreligion  and  profaneness.  Tlie  religious  public, 
strangers  to  the   trials  of  their  fathers,  had  become 


IGO  LIFE   OF  DR.  :\I"CRIE. 

estranged  from  their  history,  and,  as  the  usual  conse- 
quence, not  only  unthankful  for  what  they  had  done, 
but  vain  of  their  own  fancied  superiority.  A  work 
was  wanted,  in  which  the  ancient  cause,  with  the  an- 
cient spirit  of  the  Reformation,  might  come  recom- 
mended by  the  advantages  of  modern  taste  and  re- 
finement. And  nothing  promised  more  effectually 
to  restore  the  fading  energies  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  than  to  carry  her  back,  once  more,  to  the 
bracing  air  and  the  heart-stirring  scenery  of  her  in- 
fant years. 

In  calculating  the  amount  of  service  performed  to 
the  public  by  the  Life  of  Knox,  it  seems  requisite  to 
advert  to  the  character  of  the  popular  history  of  the 
period, — the  whole  current  of  which  may  be  said  to 
j";5Ve  been  either  decidedly  hostile  or  coldly  indiffe- 
rent i9  the  cause  of  vital  religion  and  reformation. 
The  memory  of  the  reformers,  though  still  venerated 
by  the  few,  who,  adhering  to  their  principles,  had 
studied  their  history  in  the  humble  pages  of  such  as 
Wodrow,  Howie,  Crookshank,  and  Stevenson,  still 
Uy  under  a  load  of  reproach,  which,  with  the  bulk  of 
the  reading  public,  had  long  passed  for  the  language 
of  soberness  and  truth.*  Popish  writers  had  propa- 
gated every  prejudice  and  falsehood  against  them, 
and  distorted  and  vilified  every  thing  connected  with 
a  revolution,  which  interest,  ignorance,  and  super.'^ti- 
i'lon  taught  them  to  abhor.  Recent  events  in  the 
British  kingdoms  had  alienated  the  minds  of  our 
courtly  divines  from  the  true  principles  of  the  Re- 
formation, and  rendered  them  too  Tvilling  to  join  in 

*  "The  prevailing  opinion  about  Jolm  Knox,"  says  one  who 
was  well  qualified  to  jvidge  of  the  matter,  "  has  come  to  be,  that 
he  was  a  fierce  and  gloomy  bigot,  equally  a  foe  to  polite  learning 
and  innocent  enjoyment;  and  that,  not  satisfied  with  exposing 
the  abuses  of  tlie  Romish  superstition,  he  laboured  to  substitute 
for  the  rational  religion  and  regulated  worship  of  enlightened 
men,  the  ardent  and  unrectified  spirit  of  vulgar  enthusiasm, 
daslied  with  dreams  of  spiritual  and  political  independence,  and 
!ill  the  impracticabilities  of  the  earthly  kingdom  of  the  saints."' — 
Edinburgh  Review.     Jnhj  1812, 


Robertson's  history  of  Scotland.        161 

the  outcry  against  our  Reformers.  The  skeptical 
pen  of  Hume,  at  that  time  the  idol  of  historic  taste, 
and  who  was  always  glad  of  an  opportunity  to  aim 
a  blow  at  genuine  religion,  in  whatever  form  it  ap- 
peared, had  but  too  well  fulfilled  the  pledge  which 
he  gave  in  a  letter  to  Principal  Robertson:  "Tell 
Goodall,  that  if  he  can  but  give  up  Queen  Mary,  I 
hope  to  satisfy  him  in  every  thing  else,  and  he  will 
have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  John  Knox  and  the  Re^ 
formers  made  very  ridiculous."* 

It  would  be  uncandid  and  unjust  to  place  the  ele- 
gant histories  of  Robertson  on  a  level,  in  point  of 
moral  feeling,  with  that  of  Hume.  But,  making 
every  allowance  for  the  professedly  secular  character 
of  his  works,  it  must  be  admitted  that,  when  he  does 
touch  on  the  subject,  there  is  no  indication  of  a  desire 
to  do  full  justice  1o  the  character  of  the  Reformation. 
In  his  History  of  Scotland,  which  Dr.  M'Crie  used 
to  say  was  "the  most  beautiful  piece  of  history  he 
ever  read,"  there  are  many  fine  and  finely  expressed 
sentiments  in  honourof  learning,  liberty  and  religion; 
but  the  feelings  of  his  readers  will  tell  them,  that  in 
so  far  as  they  have  been  guided  by  the  historian,  he 
has  been  more  successful  in  exciting  a  sentimental 
sympathy  for  his  unfortunate  and  guilty  heroine,  than 
in  kindling  a  zeal  for  the  Reformation,  or  any  thing 
like  admiration  for  the  devoted  men  by  whom  it  was 
accomplished.  His  eloquent  biographer  has  suggests 
ed  the  following  apology  for  the  failings  into  which 
he  has  been  betrayed  by  making  Mary  the  heroine  of 
his  story: — "  A  cold  and  phlegmatic  historian,  who 
surve3'S  human  affairs  like  the  inhabitant  of  a  difier- 
ent  planet,  if  his  narrative  should  sometimes  languish 
for  want  of  interest,  will  at  least  avoid  those  prepos- 
sessions into  which  the  writer  must  occasional!}'  be 
betrayed,  who,  mingling  with  a  sympathetic  ardour 
among  the  illustrious  personages  whose  story  he  con- 
templates, is  liable,  while  he  kindles  with  their  emo- 

*  Stewart's  Life  of  Robertson,  p.  37- 
14* 


162  LIFE  OV  DR.   M^CHIE. 

tions,  to  be  infected  with  the  contagion  of  their  pre- 
judices and  passions."  Granted:  but  there  were  two 
classes  of  "  illustrious  personages  "  among  whom  the 
Principal  was  led  by  his  story  to  mingle;  and  it  must 
be  left  with  the  reader  to  judge,  how  far  the  "preju- 
dices and  passions"  inspired  by  contemplating  the 
feminine  accomplishments  of  the  Queen  of  Scots, 
deserve  to  be  classed  with  those  which  might  have 
sprung  from  sympathy  with  the  manly  worth  and 
high-toned  principle  of  the  Scottish  Reformers. 
"The  History  of  Scotland,"  says  our  author,  "has 
done  more  to  prepossess  the  public  mind  in  favour  of 
that  princess,  than  all  the  defences  of  her  most  zeal- 
ous and  ingenious  advocates,  and  consequently  to 
excite  prejudif^e  against  her  opponents,  who,  on  the 
supposition  of  her  guilt,  acted  a  most  meritorious 
part,  and  are  entitled,  in  other  respects,  to  the  grati- 
tude and  veneration  of  posterity."* 

If  this  exquisitely  pleasing  historian  yielded  too 
far,  in  portraying  the  character  of  Mary,  to  the  ami- 
able feelings  of  the  man,  there  can  be  as  little  doubt 
that  his  habits  and  ecclesiastical  leanings  (not  to 
speak  of  his  religious  views,  or  to  decide  whether 
he  valued  religion  itself  at  its  true  worth)  tempted 
him  to  regard  the  struggles  for  religious  freedom  at 
the  Reformation,  in  the  cold  light  of  the  coldest 
church  policy.  It  is  seldom  that  he  suggests  an  ad- 
vice for  the  advancement  of  reforming  measures;  but 
a  favourite  speculation  with  him  seems  to  have  been 
the  problem,  how  the  whole  Reformation  might 
have  been  prevented,  or  overthrown.!  With  the 
religious  sentiments  of  the  Reformers,  he  is  careful 

*  Life  of  Knox,  vol.  ii.,  p.  24S — 9. 

I  There  is  a  passage  in  his  History^  of  Charles  V.  in  which  he 
reveals  the  secret,  which  neither  Charles  nor  his  counsellors,  la_y 
or  clerical,  could  discover,  and  which,  according  to  the  sage 
historian,  would  have  extinguished  the  Reformation  abroad. 
Suggestions  in  the  same  strain  are  to  be  met  with  in  the  liistory 
of  Scotland.  "  Perhaps  by  gentle  treatment,  and  artful  policy, 
the  proo-ress  of  the  Reformation  might  have  been  checked,'  &c. — 
Vol.  i.,"b.  2. 


cook's  history  or  the  reformation.      163 

on  all  occasions  not  to  identify  himself.  He  repre- 
sents them  as  contending  "for  what  they  esteemed  the 
cause  of  God  and  of  their  country,"  or  against  "  what 
they  denounced  as  idolatry," — speaking,  on  all  points 
of  faith,  really  "like  the  inhabitant  of  a  different 
planet."  In  accounting  for  the  Reformation,  he 
dwells  excluslvel}'  on  the  political  motives  of  the  ac- 
tors, expressly  to  "  show  how  naturally  these  prompt- 
ed them  to  act  with  so  much  ardour,"  and  to  avoid 
assigning  any  higher  reasons  for  the  "eagerness  and 
zeal  with  which  our  ancestors  embraced  and  propa- 
gated the  Protestant  doctrines,"  which,  he  says, 
would  represent  the  Reformation  "as  the  effect  of 
some  wild  and  enthusiastic  frenzy  in  the  human 
mind."*  In  short,  he  finds  so  many  natural  causes 
working  to  produce  the  effect,  that,  though  a  Provi- 
dence is  verbally  acknowledged,  the  admission  is 
felt  to  be  almost  superfluous.  Instead  of  tracing  the 
connexion  between  the  great  efficient  and  the  subor- 
dinate  agency,  so  as  to  make  it  manifest  that  while 
men  and  things  were  at  work,  God  was  working  out, 
by  means  of  them,  his  sovereign  will,  and  guiding, 
though  unseen,  the  springs  of  human  action, — he  puts 
down  Providence  in  a  niche  by  itself,  contented,  as 
it  w*ere,  with  having  paid  his  respects  to  the  image 
at  the  door,  and  thereby  exhausted  his  duty  and  saved 
his  orthodoxy.  So  that  by  the  time  the  historian 
has  conducted  his  company  a  few  steps  through  the 
aisles  and  galleries  of  his  edifice,  they  feel  them- 
selves as  much  in  a  region  from  whence  all  influence 
superior  to  that  which  meets  the  senses  is  excluded, 
as  if  their  guide  had  been  Gibbon  or  Hume,  instead 
of  a  Scottish  divine,  and  a  professed  Calvinist. 

By  one  of  those  remarkable  coincidences  which 
frequently -happen  in  the  history  of  literature,  the 
same  year  witnessed  the  publication  of  the  Life  of 
Knox,  and  of  Dr.  Cook's  History  of  the  Reformation 
in   Scotland,  the  latter  having  the   precedence  by  a 

*  History  of  Scotland,  vol.  i.,  b.  2. 


164  LIFE  OP  DR.  M'CRIE. 

few  weeks.  To  this  work  Dr.  M'Crie  thus  referred, 
in  his  Preface  to  the  first  edition  of  Knox: — "  When 
the  printing  of  the  following  Life  was  finished,  and  I 
was  employed  in  correcting  the  Notes  at  the  end,  a 
History  of  the  Reformalion  in  Scotland,  by  Dr.  Cook 
of  Laui'encekirk,  was  published.  After  what  I  have 
already  said,  I  need  scarcely  add,  that  the  appear- 
ance of  such  a  work  gave  me  great  satisfaction.  The 
author  is  a  friend  to  civil  and  religious  liberty;  he 
has  done  justice  to  the  character  of  the  Reformers, 
and  evinced  much  industry  in  examining  the  autho- 
rities from  which  he  has  taken  his  materials.  Had 
he  had  more  full  access  to  the  sources  of  informa- 
tion, he  would  no  doubt  have  done  greater  justice  to 
the  subject,  and  rendered  his  work  still  more  worthy 
of  public  favour;  but  I  trust  that  it  will  be  useful  in 
correcting  mistakes  and  prejudices  which  are  ex- 
tremely common,  and  in  exciting  attention  to  a 
branch  of  our  national  history  which  has  been  long 
neglected.  Where  our  subject  coincides,  I  have  in 
general  observed  an  agreement  in  the  narrative,  and 
sometimes  in  the  reflections:  in  several  instances, 
however,  we  differ  in  the  judgment  which  we  have 
expressed  about  them,  and  in  the  delineation  of  cha- 
racter. The  judicious  reader  will  decide  on  which 
side  the  truth  lies,  by  comparing  the  reasons  which 
we  have  advanced,  and  the  authorities  to  which  we 
have  appealed." 

Full  time  has  now  been  given  to  the  public  to 
decide  on  the  point  submitted  to  their  judgment  at 
the  close  of  this  candid  estimate  of  a  rival  work,  and 
it  would  savour  of  affectation  were  we  to  pretend  to 
question  on  which  side  the  verdict  has  been  given. 
AVithout,  however,  pronouncing  on  their  respective 
merits,  which,  of  course,  will  be  estimated  according 
to  the  views  entertained  of  their  grand  subject,  the 
interests  of  truth  demand  a  fair  disclosure  of  the 
principal  points  referred  to,  which  form  the  cha- 
racteristic features  of  distinction  between  the  two 
works.     In  the  pages  of  Dr.  Cook  we  discover  the 


cook's  history  op  the  reformation.      1G5 

same  neutrality  of  feeling,  and  looseness  of  senti- 
ment, with  respect  to  many  important  branches  of  the 
Reformation,  which  we  have  already  noticed  as  cha- 
racterizing those  of  Dr.  Robertson.  In  Dr.  Cook, 
however,  there  is  an  unsteadiness  of  judgment,  not 
discernible  in  the  learned  Principal.  Single  passages 
we  read  with  satisfaction,  but  their  influence  is  weak- 
ened by  others  which  are  found  in  juxtaposition  to 
them.  He  is  perpetually  diluting  his  statements 
with  qualifications  which  unsettle  the  verdict  he  had 
previously  pronounced,  and  destroy  the  impression 
he  had  well  nigh  produced.  The  prevailing  topic  is 
the  subjection  of  the  Church  to  the  State,  and  in 
almost  every  question  between  the  two,  his  voice  is 
in  favour  of  the  latter.  There  is  hardly  any  one 
point  that  good  men  have  suffered  or  struggled  for, 
which  appears  to  him  of  sufficient  importance  to  jus- 
tify a  struggle  or  a  suffering  on  account  of  it.  In 
several  instances  (we  might  specify  his  depreciating 
strictures  on  Regent  Murray)  he  not  only  advances 
positions  which  contradict  all  credible  history,  but 
by  a  kind  of  self-cross-questioning  destroys  his  own 
testimony.  So  frequently  and  provokingly  indeed 
does  he  interpose  his  caveats  and  innuendoes,  that  we 
are  almost  tempted  to  impute  to  him  the  intention 
of  neutralizing  all  the  effect  of  the  good  words  which 
he  has  bestowed  on  the  Reform.ers  and  the  Reforma- 
tion. In  the  omnipotent  influence  he  ascribes  to  se- 
condary causes — in  his  reliccnce  on  the  peculiar  doc- 
trinal sentiments  of  the  Reformers,  which  were  cer- 
tainly the  mainsprings  of  their  ardour  in  acting  and 
fortitude  in  suffering,  but  which  he  alleges,  referred 
to  '•'  dark  and  disputable  sulDJects  " — in  his  professed 
latitude  of  opinion  in  regard  to  church  polity,  though 
obvious  leaning  of  inclination  towards  Episcopacy — 
in  his  faltering  tone  as  soon  as  he  comes  to  apply 
the  principles  which  he  lays  down  on  civil  and  re- 
ligious liberty — as  if  "scared  at  the  sound  himself 
had  made"-— and  in  his  frequent  use  of  the  timorous 
and  temporizing  argument  of  dangerous  consequen- 


166  LIFE  OF  Dn.   M^CRIE. 

ces; — there  is  ample  evidence,  that  whatever  may 
have  been  Dr.  Cook's  own  opinion  of  the  work  or 
of  the  men  described  in  his  history,  his  was  certain!}^ 
not  the  exhibition  of  them,  calculated  to  leave  on 
the  mind  the  most  favourable  impressions  of  either, 
or  destined  to  rekindle  the  spirit  by  which  they  puri- 
fied the  Church  and  saved  the  country. 

In  hazarding  these  remarks,  I  am  not  conscious  of 
being  guided  by  any  other  motive  than  a  desire  to 
show,  that,  on  the  assum.ption  that  the  Reformation 
and  its  heroes  deserved  to  be  treated  in  another  spirit, 
and  presented  in  another  light  than  they  were  in  the 
pages  of  the  writers  now  referred  to,  such  a  work  as 
the  Life  of  Knox  was  loudly  and  imperatively  called 
for.  It  is  not  my  intention  to  enter  into  an  analysis 
of  its  contents.  To  specify  the  pieces  of  collateral 
information  which  the  author  has  collected,  and  the 
various  controverted  points  of  history  which  have 
been  settled  or  illustrated  in  the  course  of  the  narra- 
tive, would  be  to  step  beyond  the  province  of  the  bio- 
grapher. I  may  be  permitted,  however,  to  refer  to  a 
characteristic  feature  of  the  work — which  it  necessa- 
rily assumed  in  the  hands  of  the  author — its  apolo- 
getical  character.  The  success,  indeed,  with  which 
"Knox  and  his  Reformation  "  have  been  vindicated, 
has  been  generally  reckoned  his  highest  praise.  One 
of  its  reviewers  has  remarked,  that  had  it  "contained 
nothing  more  than  an  expansion  of  the  notes,  with 
the  passages  in  the  text  to  which  these  notes  refer,  in 
regard  to  the  real  character  of  "The  Good  Regent,"  so 
unjustly  yet  so  uniformly  aspersed,  even  by  the  most 
accurate  and  distinguished  historians,  we  should  have 
pronounced  it  to  be  a  work  di»;num  cedro  Unendum."* 
In  the  execution  of  this  part  of  his  task,  the  author  has 
frequent  recourse  to  what  Dr.  Thomson  called  "  the 
retort  courteous,"  seldom  permitting  his  opponents 
to  escape  without  |)roving  them  guilty  of  faults  much 
graver  than  those  of  which  they  accused  the  Reform- 

*  Christian  Instructor,  vol.  iv.,  p.  138. 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  KNOX.  167 

ers;  and  it  is  here  that  he  betrays  that  power  of 
sarcasm  which  gave  such  serious  offence  to  some  of 
his  critics.  But  while  it  must  be  admitted  that  the 
provocation  was  great,  it  will  be  found  that  the  se- 
verest of  his  strictures  proceeded  more  from  genuine 
indignation  at  the  offence,  than  from  a  desire  to  re- 
taliate on  the  offender;  and  that  the  object  of  them 
was  chiefly  to  unveil  the  unworthy  spirit  which  ani- 
mated, as  it  still  continues  to  animate,  the  more  cla- 
morous and  prejudiced  assailants  of  our  Presbyterian 
ancestors.*  I  may  be  permitted  to  add,  that  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  author  has  accomplished  his  task 
is  sufficient  to  show,  what  is  now  beginning  to  be 
more  generally  acknowledged,  that  the  warmest  en- 
thusiasm in  the  cause  of  divine  truth, "and  sympathy 
with  the  noble  and  upright  spirits  who  contended  for 
it,  are  not  incompatible  with  the  utmost  candour  in 
delineating  their  character  and  recording  their  his- 
tory; and  that  historical  impartiality  is  a  very  different 
thing  from  that  Pyrrhonism  and  Stoical  indifference, 
with  which  it  was  too  long  confounded,  but  which 
really  disqualifies  the  historian  for  doing  any  proper 
justice  to  his  subject. 

Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  tone  and  spirit 
of  the  historian,  there  can  be  but  one  opinion  as  to 
the  accuracy  and  fidelity  of  the  narrative.  On  this 
there  is  the  less  reason  to  enlarge,  as  the  author  has 
enabled  every  reader  to  judge  for  himself,  his  work 
exhibiting,  to  use  the  phraseology  of  Johnson,  "such 
a  stability  of  dates,  such  a  certainty  of  facts,  such  a 
punctuality  of  citation."  With  all  his  contempt 
for  mere  literary  antiquaries,  few  of  that  class,  it  is 
believed,  were  ever  more  patient  and  curious  in  re- 

*  Among  the  most  striking  examples  of  the  use  made  of  this 
legitimate  weapon  of  literary  warfare,  we  might  refer  to  his  re- 
marks on  the  assassination  of  Cardinal  Beatoun,  (vol.  i.,  note  M, 
5th,  ed.;)  his  vindication  of  Knox  from  the  charge  of  treason, 
(ib.  p.  153,  note  W.;)  his  apology  for  the  violence  of  "  The  First 
Blast  against  the  monstrous  Regiment  of  Women."  (ih.  p.  22i\.;) 
his  remarks  on  the  demolition  of  the  monasteries,  ib.  p.  27-1.,) 
and  on  Knox's  dissimulation,  (ib.  p.  292.) 


168  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

search,  or  more  resolute  against  taking  things  at  se- 
cond hand.  It  would  not  become  me  to  inquire  how 
far  the  plodding  perseverance  usually  attributed  to 
the  lower  creation  in  the  world  of  literature,  was 
found  united  in  him  with  the  descriptive  powers  of 
the  historian,  and  the  generalized  wisdom  of  the 
philosopher.  But  if  one  may  venture  on  describing 
his  manner  in  a  i'ew  words,  it  might  be  said,  that  he 
explains  events,  not  so  much  by  philosophizing  on 
their  probable  causes,  as  by  a  careful  induction  of 
facts;  and  that  he  produces  his  effect,  less  by  the  em- 
bellishments of  description  than  by  the  grouping  of 
his  figures,  and  by  such  a  graphic  delineation  of  cha- 
racter, that  in  whatever  light  the  picture  is  viewed, 
it  catches  the  eye,  and  conveys  the  impression  of 
reality.* 

But  vs'hatever  may  be  the  rank  due  to  the  Life  of 
Knox  as  an  historical  composition,  it  is  as  a  religious 
work,  and  as  a  history  of  the  Reformation,  that  it 
will  continue  to  hold  its  highest  place  in  the  estima- 
tion of  all  the  enlightened  friends  of  religion.  The 
felicity  of  the  selection  of  John  Knox  as  the  subject 
of  a  popular  biography  has  been  frequently  noticed, 
and  the  narrative  doubtless  derives  many  charms 

*  While  he  was  composing  the  Life  of  Knox,  a  friend  found 
him  seated,  as  usual,  with  a  huge  mass  of  books  and  manu- 
scripts before  him.  "  1  positively  shudder  to  look  at  them,"  he 
said  to  the  gentleman,  who  was  expressing  his  astonishment  at 
their  number.  Ample  evidence  of  the  use  which  he  had  made 
of  this  formidable  heap  of  authorities  is  discernible  in  the  notes 
and  references  with  which  the  volumes  abound,  and  which  he 
himself  considered  as,  in  some  respects,  the  most  valuable  por- 
tion of  the  work.  A  fond  admirer  of  the  Life,  who  has  been  at 
the  pains  of  counting  them,  makes  out  IGl  authorities,  more  or 
less  quoted.  A  better  idea  of  their  value  may  be  formed,  when 
it  is  known  that  there  is  no  attempt  to  swell  the  number,  by 
stringing  a  long  list  of  names  to  authenticate  facts  which  were 
never  disputed.  He  has  been  heard  to  mention,  that,  having 
forgotten  where  he  had  met  witli  the  fact  mentioned  (vol.  i  ,  p. 
15)  respecting  Gawin  Douglas,  of  his  storming  the  cathedral  of 
Dunkeld,  it  cost  him  a  six  weeks'  search  before  he  discovered  his 
authority.  As  the  reward  of  his  labour,  he  was  enabled  to  add 
to  the  note,  in  the  second  edition,  "  Life  of  Gawin  Douglas,  pre- 
fixed to  his  translation  of  the  -Encid;  Ruddiman's  Edition," 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  LIFE  OP  KNOX.  169 

from  the  incidents  of  his  personal  history;  but  it 
requires  little  penetration  to  discover,  that  the  de- 
scription of  the  Reformer,  though  he  is  the  main  figure 
in  the  piece,  was  not  the  main  design  of  the  painter; 
and  that  Knox  is  made  subservient  in  the  pages  of 
his  biographer,  as  he  was  during  life  in  the  hands  of 
Providence,  to  the  illustration  and  defence  of  the 
cause,  of  which  he  was  the  chief  pillar  and  the  cen- 
tral spirit.  The  evangelical  character  of  the  work  is 
very  apparent.  In  these  pages,  religion  appears,  as 
it  really  was  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  the  ab- 
sorbing interest,  the  pervading  principle,  without  the 
aid  of  which  that  wonderful  revolution  would  never 
have  been  effected,  but  would  assuredly,  in  every 
struggle  which  it  encountered,  have  been  defeated. 
The  God-fearing  character  of  the  principal  actors  in 
the  scene,  as  portrayed  by  the  author,  contributes, 
more  powerful!}^,  perhaps,  than  any  thing  else,  to  the 
influence  of  the  whole  work;  and  the  events  which  he 
describes,  are  hallowed  by  being  traced,  in  their  com- 
mencement, progress  and  success,  to  the  overruling 
and  directing  hand  of  Providence.  But  the  aims  of 
the  author  were  still  inore  specific.  To  record  the 
deliverance  of  the  Ciiurch  from  Popish  thraldom,  and 
the  settlement  of  relio:ion  on  the  basis  of  a  large  and 
liberal  but  faithful  profession, — to  revive  respect  for 
the  solemn  federal  transactions  by  which  it  was  con- 
firmed,— to  assert  the  independence  of  the  Church, 
in  the  way  of  showing  how  this  may  be  maintained 
compatibly  with  a  civil  establishment,  which  shall 
recognise  her  profession,  and  support  l:ier  institutions, 
without  demanding  in  return  the  sacrifice  of  a  single 
spiritual  right  belonging  to  her  as  a  Ciuirch  of  Christ, 
— and  to  rouse  the  Church  of  Scotland,  in  particular, 
to  return  to  her  "  first  love,"  and  to  purify  her  con- 
stitution and  administration  from  every  abuse  incon- 
sistent with  her  efficiency  as  a  Christian  establish- 
ment;— these  were  the  great  ends  wliich  Dr.  M'Crie 
had  in  view  in  writing  the  Life  of  Knox.  And  if 
any  reader  has  risen  from  its  perusal,  with  no  other 
15 


170  LIFE   OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

impressions  than  those  of  admiration  for  the  powers 
of  the  author,  and  general  respect  for  the  piety  and 
zeal  of  the  Reformers, — if  he  has  laid  down  the  two 
volumes,  without  being  convinced  that  the  work 
which  they  illustrate  was,  in  spite  of  all  the  failings 
of  the  instruments  employed  in  it,  the  work  of  God, 
and  fully  justified  in  the  great  means  by  which  it  was 
carried  on  and  ratified,  by  reason  and  Scripture, — I 
liesit.ate  not  to  affirm,  that,  so  far  as  such  a  reader  is 
concerned,  the  main  design  of  the  author,  for  which 
all  his  time  and  labour  were  expended,  has  com- 
pletely failed. 

The  following  expression  of  his  own  feelings  on 
this  important  point,  occurs  in  a  letter  to  one  of  his 
brethren,  June  30th,  1818:  "I  believe  that  many  are 
of  the  same  opinion  with  you,  and  think  that  I  am 
wholly  occupied  in  writing  for  the  press,  and  that, 
influenced  by  the  approbation  which  my  former  work 
obtained,  I  am  labouring  continually  in  preparing 
another  which  may  have  equal  success.  There  are 
parts  of  my  conduct,  I  confess,  which  afford  occasion 
for  such  apprehensions.  But,  believe  me,  it  is  quite 
otherwise.  For  whole  years  1  have  not  done  as 
much  as  I  could  have  done  in  the  same  number  of 
months,  I  may  say  weeks,  if  I  had  entered  heartily 
into  the  work.  For  the  last  half  year  I  have  scarcely 
looked  at  the  Life  of  Melville.  The  truth  is,  I  am 
sick  of  the  public — I  am  disgusted  at  it — I  loathe 
the  manner  in  which  it  breathes  cold  and  hot  on  the 
same  subject — and  I  would  not,  could  not  live  in  its 
atmosphere.  It  is  long  since  I  perceived  that  the 
favour  which  it  testified  for  Knox  was  superficial, 
hollow,  and  treacherous.  How,  indeed,  could  such 
an  age  really  or  sincerely  venerate  his  character,  and 
sympathize  with  his  principles  or  his  feelings,  which 
are  at  such  variance  with  all  its  own?  And  what 
signify  professions  which  are  daily  contradicted  by 
practice? — But  I  will  not  dwell  on  this  theme.  You 
will  easily  see  the  state  of  my  mind." 

It  was  no  doubt  under  the  influence  of  such  feel- 
ings that  he  manifested  less  interest,  than  he  might 


EFFECTS  OF  THE  WORK.  171 

otherwise  have  done,  in  the  public  demonstrations  of 
admiration  for  the  memory  of  Knox  which  his  labours 
had  so  great  a  share  in  eliciting.*  But  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  add,  that  he  lived  to  see  reason  for  quali- 
fying, to  a  considerable  extent,  the  gloomy  estimate 
which  he  appears  to  have  formed,  at  the  time,  of  the 
impression  made  by  his  work  on  the  public  mind.  It 
Avas  no  small  triumph  to  achieve  for  the  cause  of 
truth,  that  the  name  of  John  Knox,  formerly  so 
odious,  soon  became  nearly  as  popular  as  it  was  in 
the  lifetime  of  the  Reformer;  and  that  the  painter, 
the  sculptor,  and  the  poet  should  have  vied  to  im- 
body  the  description  of  the  biographer,  and  com- 
memorate the  deeds  of  his  hero.t  It  required  some 
time  before  the  wholesome  influences  of  such  a  work 
could  find  their  Vv'ay  into  such  a  system  of  society,  but 
the  change  which  it  has  already  produced  on  public 

•  Feelings  of  delicacy  may  have  mingled  with  other  motives 
in  preventing  him  from  countenancing  the  splendid  ceremonies 
which  attended  the  laying  of  the  foundation  of  Knox's  monu- 
ment in  Glasgow,  in  lb25. 

t  By  none  have  the  merits  of  the  Life  of  Knox  been  more 
liighly  appreciated  than  by  the  Presbyterians  of  Ireland.  In  il- 
lustration of  the  above,  I  may  quote  the  following  testimony  from 
one  of  tiieir  papers,  which  appeared  after  a  visit  which  Dr. 
MCrie  paid  to  Ireland  in  182G.  "  This  distinguished  writer  sailed 
from  Belfast  for  Scotland  yesterday.  In  the  present  literary  age, 
when  one  can  scarcely  turn  tlie  corner  of  a  street  without  run- 
ning himself  against  an  autiior,  men  who  have  actually  done 
great  things  are  still  few  in  number.  One  of  these  benefactors 
of  mankind  is  Dr.  M'Crie.  The  publication  of  his  first  great 
work,  "  The  Life  of  John  Knox,''  forms  an  important  era  in  the 
progress  of  historical  science.  It  is  so  well  known,  that  any  re- 
marks on  it  would  be  useless,  but  we  may  be  permitted  to  advert 
to  the  effects  which  it  has  produced.''  Having  adverted  to  some 
of  these,  the  writer  adds,  "  But  a  greater  proof  of  his  merit  was 
the  complete  revolution  in  public  opinion  which  was  produced 
by  the  work.  All  the  English  periodicals,  except  one  or  two 
■which  were  governed  by  the  demon  of  party,  were  filled  with  re- 
cantations of  tiie  error  which  had  prevailed  in  that  part  of  the 
empire  concerning  the  character  of  the  deliverer  of  Scotland; 
and  his  own  country,  which  had  so  long  been  misled  by  her  own 
recreant  sons  concerning  the  character  and  achievements  of 
Knox,  hastened  to  do  him  justice.  Monuments  were  erected, 
and  clubs  were  instituted  to  his  memory,  and  his  name  was  en- 
rolled in  the  list  of  her  patriots  with  those  of  Bruce  and  Wal- 
lace.''— Belfast  A'ews  Letter. 


172  LIFE  or  DR.  m'crie. 

sentiment,  though  not  all  that  he  could  have  wished, 
is  certainly  much  greater  than  he  ever  anticipated. 
On  the  Church  of  Scotland,  its  effects  may  he  visihly 
traced  in  her  increased  and  increasing  respect  for  the 
principles  as  well  as  the  persons  of  her  early  Refor- 
mers, and  the  anxiety  evinced  for  the  removal  of  cor- 
ruptions which  time  and  a  long  course  of  bad  regimen 
has  superinduced  on  her  natively  good  constitution, 
and  the  real  extent  and  deformity  of  which,  though 
often  pointed  out  to  her,  in  the  form  of  testimony,  by 
her  faithful  friends,  she  was  slow  to  acknowledge, 
till  presented  with  this  lively  portrait  of  what  she 
was  in  the  days  of  her  prime.  It  is  not  for  us  to 
prognosticate  what  may  be  the  remoter  consequences 
of  this  w'ork,  aided  by  the  other  productions  of  the 
author;  he  himself  did  not  look  for  anj'  prevailing 
change  of  opinion  in  the  country,  unless  in  connexion 
with  some  change  in  providence,  which  should  attract 
general  attention  to  the  subject,  and  remove  deeply- 
rooted  prejudices.  But  should  the  present  move- 
ments of  society,  and  the  current  of  reh"gious  feeling 
now  setting  so  strongly  in,  issue  in  the  return  of  the 
national  Church  to  all  the  purity  and  more  than  the 
efficienc}''  of  her  earlier  days,  few  publications,  it  is 
believed,  will  be  found  to  have  contributed  more 
largely  to  bring  about  such  a  happy  consummation 
than  the  Life  of  Knox. 

The  second  edition  appeared  in  March  1813,  in 
two  volumes,  with  many  alterations  and  additions. 
Indeed,  the  improvements  made  on  the  style,in  which 
he  showed  his  readiness  to  avail  himself  of  the  candid 
suggestions  of  the  critics,  and  enlarged  accounts  given 
of  public  transactions,  the  expansion  of  the  reflec- 
tions, together  with  the  additional  authorities  ad- 
duced, in  this  edition,  render  it,  in  point  of  value,  as 
it  was  in  point  of  labour,  almost  a  new  work.  The 
Life  of  Knox  has  now  reached  the  sixth  edition.  It 
has  been  translated  into  the  French,  Dutch  and  Ger- 
man languages.  The  Dutch  translation,  which  was 
executed  by  Cramer  von  Baumgarten,  was  printed  at 


EDITIONS  AND  TRANSLATIONS  OF  KNOX,  173 

Groningen,  in  1S17,  in  two  volumes  octavo.  The 
German  version,  which  is  rather  an  abridgment  or 
largely  extended  extract  from  the  work,  by  the  cele- 
brated Plank  of  Gottingcn,  was  published  the  same 
year  in  one  volume  duodecimo;  and  in  this  cheap  form 
it  has  circulated  very  widely  in  Germany  among  the 
common  people. 

In  February  1813,  before  the  publication  of  the 
second  edition,  Mr.  M'Crie  received  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity  from  theUniversity  of  Edinburgh, 
a  circumstance  the  more  remarkable,  as  that  body  has 
been  considered  scrupulous  in  bestowing  academical 
honours,  and  as  this  was  the  first  instance  in  which 
they  had  ever  conferred  such  a  degree  on  any  dis- 
senting minister  in  Scotland.  The  following  com- 
munication will  show  the  interest  which  Mr.  Black- 
wood took  in  procuring  him  this  mark  of  distinction, 
and  discovers  that  a  proposal  had  been  made  to  pro- 
cure for  him  the  same  honour  from  the  University  of 
St.  Andrews. 

To  the  Rev.  Dr.  Lee,  St.  Andrews. 

"My  dear  Sir, — Your  truly  liberal  and  most  flat- 
tering offer  for  my  worthy  friend  Mr.  M'Crie,  I  never 
can  forget,  and  must  consider  as  a  fresh  mark  of  your 
regard  to  myself,  as  I  feel  so  deeply  interested  in 
whatever  concerns  the  fame  or  character  of  the 
Author  of  the  Life  of  Knox.  Some  time  ago,  I  had 
a  good  deal  of  conversation  with  some  of  my  friends 
in  the  University  here  on  the  subject,  in  consequence 
of  which  Dr.  Baird,  Dr.  Ritchie,  and  several  otjjer  of 
the  Professors  were  applied  to,  and  professed  the 
utmost  readiness  about  bringing  forward  or  support- 
ing a  proposal  to  confer  a  degree  on  one  who  they 
all  thought  had  so  well  deserved  it.  This  being  the 
state  of  the  case,  you  will  see  that  as  my  friends  here 
have  been  stirred  in  the  business  already,  it  would 
not  be  using  them  well  to  accept  of  your  offer,  which 
I  consider  as  so  extremely  handsome  that  it  gives 
me  great  pain  it  cannot  be  accepted  of  at  present. 
15* 


174  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

Mr.  M'Crle  has  not  the  smallest  suspicion  that  such 
an  affair  is  in  agitation.  He  is  so  very  modest  a 
man,  that  1  know  he  would  have  rather  been  for 
declining  such  an  honour,  if  I  had  consulted  him  pre- 
viously about  it.  I  intend  to  pay  the  whole  of  the 
fees  out  of  my  own  pocket,  without  letting  him  know 
any  thing  about  it. — I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  yonr  sincere 
friend,  "  W.  Blackwood." 

Edinburgh,  23d  Dec.  1S12. 

The  degree  was  readily  obtained,  but  the  difficulty 
lay  in  inducing  him  to  accept  of  it.  He  regarded  it, 
I  believe,  as  somewhat  inconsistent  with  Presbyterian 
parity,  and  so  averse  was  he  to  the  appropriation  of 
the  title,  that  it  required  all  the  art  and  perseverance 
of  his  spirited  publisher  to  get  the  honorary  initials 
inserted  after  his  name  in  the  second  edition  of 
Knox.  In  course  of  time  he  became  more  reconciled 
to  the  customary  form  of  address;  but  to  the  last  he 
strenuously  refused  to  allow  himself  to  be  designated 
Doctor  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Church  Courts. 


CHAPTER  V. 


FROM  THE  PUBLICATION  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  KNOX  TO 

THAT  OF  THE  LIFE  OP  MELVILLE. 

1813—1821. 

We  now  approach  a  period  in  the  history  of  Dr. 
M-Crie  when  he  began  to  emerge  from  the  compara- 
tive obscurity  in  which  he  had  spent  his  earlier  days. 
Strictly  domestic  in  his  habits,  he  was  never  fond,  at 
any  time  of  his  life,  of  appearing  much  in  public,  or 
mingling  with  the  world;  and  the  publicity  which  his 
name  acquired  from  the  Life  of  Knox,  produced  no 
visible  change  in  his  disposition.  At  the  time  of 
which  we  now  write,  he  was  decidedly  more  recluse 
In  his  habits  than  he  was  in  the  latter  years  of  his  life. 


RELIGIOUS  SOCIETIES.  175 

He  confined  himself  closely  to  his  room,  prosecuting 
his  literary  labours,  when  not  engaged  in  pastoral 
duties,  throughout  the  day,  and  too  often  throughout 
the  night,  to  a  late  hour  of  the  following  morning. 
These  intense  studies,  aided  no  doubt  by  the  public 
trials  through  which  he  had  passed,  had  superinduced 
a  degree  of  thoughtfulness  and  gravity  on  his  charac- 
ter, which,  though  it  never  extinguished  his  native 
cheerfulness  and  urbanity,  may  have  sometimes  as- 
sumed the  appearance  of  reserve,  if  not  of  sternness, 
inspiring  some  with  a  species  of  awe  in  his  presence. 
This,  however,  arose,  not  from  a  constitutional  pre- 
dominance of  melancholy  over  happier  feelings,  but 
from  temporary  circumstances,  which  had  the  power 
to  stir  up,  occasionally,  the  deep  fountain  of  his  sen- 
sibilities, and  the  saddening  effects  of  which  had 
totally  disappeared,  long  before  any  of  his  later  ac- 
quaintance came  to  know  him. 

His  aversion  to  all  public  exhibitions  went  far  to 
prevent  him  from  taking  a  prominent  part  in  the 
religious  associations,  which  sprung  up  in  such  abun- 
dance during  the  early  part  of  the  present  centur3^ 
In  some  of  them,  such  as  missionary  societies,  he  felt 
liimself  precluded  from  taking  any  share,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  mixed  and  anomalous  character  of  their 
constitution.  While  he  approved  of  their  general 
object,  and  sympathized  in  the  zeal  manifested  for  the 
advancement  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  he  considered 
himself  shut  up,  by  his  peculiar  profession,  from  co- 
operating, in  proceedings  which  he  viewed  as  the 
proper  business  of  the  Church,  with  a  variety  of  other 
denominations,  against  whom  he  was  testifying,  and 
with  whom  he  could  not  associate  in  other  acts  of 
ecclesiastical  administration.  His  views  on  the  gene- 
ral question  of  duty  are  thus  expressed  to  one  of  his 
correspondents: — "In  stating  this  topic,  you  seem 
fully  aware  of  those  considerations,  which  are  suffi- 
cient for  satisfying  the  judgment  and  directing  the 
conscience,  though  they  may  often  leave  the  feelings 
in  a  state  of  pain.     Unless  we  adopt  the   maxim, 


176  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

'Let  us  do  evil  that  good  may  come,'  we  must  cir- 
cumscribe our  exertions  in  attempting  to  do  good, 
and  decline  to  join  with  some  who  are  thus  employed, 
and  of  whose  actions  and  motives  we  willingly  be- 
lieve the  best.  The  ways  of  Providence  are  wonder- 
ful. Have  you  not  been  struck  with  what  1  may  call 
the  division  of  labour  among  the  instruments  employed 
in  the  accomplishment  of  the  great  work  which  God 
is  carrying  on  in  the  moral  and  religious  world?  He 
has  permitted,  and  he  has  purposes  to  serve  by  all 
the  disorders,  divisions,  &c.,  in  the  Church;  and  he 
has  work — and  good  work — to  perform  in  societies 
and  connexions  to  which  neither  you  nor  I  could 
conscientiously  and  dutifully  accede.  We  ought  to 
adore  him  in  this,  and  not  to  suffer  our  minds  to  be 
either  stumbled  or  grieved  at  his  procedure.  He 
marks  out  the  sphere  of  our  activity  in  doing  his  re- 
vealed will,  and  enlarges  or  narrows  our  opportunities 
of  doing  good  as  it  pleases  him.  J\Iy  sphere  has  been 
as  much  contracted  as  yours  is  ever  like  to  be;  and 
yet  I  have  always  found  that  my  opportunities  have 
been  greater  than  my  improvement  of  them.  And 
when  one  door  is  shut.  He  can  open  another.  But 
although  he  should  shut  the  door  altogether,  and  we 
should  be  precluded  from  every  opportunity  of  being 
publicly  useful  consistently  with  a  good  conscience, 
would  it  not  be  our  duty  to  acquiesce — to  be  'dumb 
with  silence  and  refrain  our  mouth  even  from  good?' 
May  there  not  be  a  silent  testimony  which  is  as  glo- 
rifying to  God,  in  certain  circumstances,  and  as  edi- 
fying to  men,  as  the  loudest  voice  and  the  most  active 
exertions?     'He,  being  dead,  yet  speaketh."' 

With  regard  to  the  subject  of  missions,  his  views 
tended  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Church,  in  her  ju- 
dicial capacity,  is  the  true  Missionary  Society;  that 
to  her  alone  belongs  the  duty  of  examining  the  quali- 
Jications  of  the  Gospel  missionaries,  appointing  them 
Iheir  respective  spheres,  sending  them  forth  on  their 
.mission,  and  superintending  their  personal  and  minis- 
terial conduct;  and  that  every  other  plan  of  operation, 


GAELIC  SCHOOL  SOCIETY.  177 

differing  from  this,  was  in  so  far  an  encroachment  on 
the  proper  business  of  the  courts  of  Christ's  house, 
tending  to  perpetuate  divisions,  and  carrying  in  the 
very  principle  of  their  association,  the  seeds  of  their 
own  dissolution. 

Butthough  thus  withheld  from  actively  co-operating 
with  some  of  the  more  popular  religious  enterprises 
of  the  day,  he  took  a  lively  interest  in  those  of  them 
which  involved  no  compromise  of  his  peculiar  prin- 
ciples. Among  these,  we  may  notice  particularly 
the  Gaelic  School  Society,  of  which  he  was  one  of 
the  founders.  The  following  extract  from  a  Minute 
of  the  Directors  of  that  Society,  agreed  to  shortly 
after  his  decease,  will  show  the  high  esteem  in  which 
his  services  were  held: — "As  one  of  those  who  first 
entertained  and  gave  body  to  the  idea  of  an  association 
for  communicating  the  Word  of  God  and  religious 
instruction  to  the  Highlanders  in  their  native  tongue, 
Dr.  M'Crie  lived  to  see  the  wisdom  and  utility  of  the 
plan  proved  by  experience;  and  whilst  he  was  one  of 
the  original  founders  of  the  institution,  he  continued 
to  the  close  of  his  life  one  of  its  liberal  supporters, 
and  where  occasion  required  the  employment  of  his 
eminent  talents  and  persuasive  eloquence,  one  of  its 
most  effective  advocates.  Frequently,  during  the 
period  of  nearly  twenty-five  years,  he  served  as  one 
of  its  directors,  and  uniformly,  by  the  wisdom  of  his 
counsel,  the  urbanity  and  cheerfulness  of  his  disposi- 
tion, his  close  attention  to  its  business,  and  his  up- 
right and  unbending  principle,  contributed  eminently 
to  the  harmony  and  efficiency  of  the  committee  and 
the  great  interests  of  the  Society;  whilst  his  enlight- 
ened and  energetic  co-operation  in  every  Christian 
and  patriotic  object  which  he  deemed  it  his  duty  or 
could  find  time  to  patronise,  will  long  be  remembered 
by  his  associates  in  Edinburgh." 

Were  any  other  proof  necessary  to  show  how  far 
he  was  from  being  actuated  by  a  spirit  of  sectarian 
jealousy,  in  standing  aloof  from  some  religious  socie- 
ties, I  might  refer  to  the  high  eulogium  which  he 


17S  LIFE  OP  DR.  M^CRIE. 

pronounced  on  the  character  of  Dr.  Charles  Stuart  of 
Dunearn, — a  gentleman  with  whom  he  co-operated  in 
the  formation  of  the  Gaelic  School  Society,  and  with 
whom,  though  the  doctor  was  a  very  zealous  Baptist, 
he  continued  to  live  on  terms  of  the  kindest  Christian 
intercourse.*  "  Of  his  character,"  said  Dr.  M'Crie, 
at  the  first  meeting  of  that  Society  after  his  death, 
January  29,  1827,  "I  shall  say  nothing  but  what  has 
fallen  within  my  own  observation.  Owing  to  dis- 
parity of  years,  and  other  circumstances  which  need 
not  be  mentioned  here,  I  did  not  enjoy  his  friendship 
in  the  strictest  sense  of  that  word;  hut  I  had  the 
honour  and  happiness  of  an  intimate  acquaintance 
with  him  during  a  considerable  number  of  years,  and 
flatter  myself  that  I  had  some  share  of  his  confi- 
dence. 1  have  spent  many  pleasant,  and,  1  hope,  not 
altogether  useless  hours  in  his  company;  and  I  am 
sure  my  memory  does  not  deceive  me  when  I  say, 
that  I  do  not  recollect  of  a  single  unkind  or  unplea- 
sant feeling  being  excited  during  the  period  of  our 
intercourse,  though  we  have  walked  occasionally  over 
debatable  ground, and  differed  on  points  which  neither 
of  us  regarded  as  trivial  and  unimportant.  For  per- 
mit me  to  say,  Sir,  that  it  is  no  test  of  forbearance 
for  persons  to  agree  in  differing  about  sentiments 
which  both,  or  even  one  of  them  holds  as  of  little  or 
no  moment,  which  he  can  quit  with  as  much  ease  as 
he  leaves  furnished  lodgings,  or  change  as  one  changes 
his  dress,  to  go  to  a  masquerade  or  a  funeral.  In  Dr. 
Stuart  I  always  found  the  honourable  feelings  of  the 
gentleman,  the  refined  and  liberal  thinking  of  the 
scholar,  and  the  unaffected  and  humble  piety  of  the 
Christian."  f 

In  March  1813,  he  was  invited  to  attend  a  public 

*  Dr.  Stuart  used  to  be  a  very  regular  hearer  of  Dr.  M'Crie's 
lectures;  and,  as  regularly,  if  a  child  was  to  be  baptized,  he  took 
up  his  hat  at  the  close  of  the  lecture,  and  walked  out  of  the 
church 

t  Sixteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Society  for  the  Support  of 
Gaelic  Schools,  January  29,  1827,  p.  33.  For  the  speech  from 
which  the  above  is  taken,  see  Appendix. 


CHRISTIANIZING  OF  INDIA.  179 

meeting,  at  whicli  the  Lord  Provost  presided,  and 
which  was  called  hy  an  advertisement  signed  by 
ministers  of  all  denominations,  to  deliberate  on  the 
steps  proper  to  be  taken  in  the  event  of  the  renewal 
of  the  East  India  Company's  Charter,  so  far  as  this 
concerned  the  promotion  of  Christianity  in  that  coun- 
try. The  chief  object  of  the  meeting  was  to  petition 
Parliament  "to  provide  for  the  introduction  of  niinis- 
ters  and  teachers  of  the  different  persuasions  of  Pro- 
testant Dissenters  into  that  vast  continent,  for  the 
purpose  of  instructing  the  natives  in  the  doctrines  of 
Christianity,"*  without  being  subjected  to  those  ob- 
structions which  had  formerly  been  thrown  in  their 
way;  in  other  words,  that  the  law  of  toleration  in 
this  country  should  be  extended  to  our  foreign  do- 
minions, so  as  to  allow  dissenters  from  the  Church 
of  England  liberty  of  worship.  After  consulting  his 
friend  Mr.  Bruce,  who  was  then  engaged  in  preparing 
a  pamphlet  on  the  East  India  question,  he  resolved 
to  attend;  and  in  the  following  extract  he  gives  a 
minute  and  humorous  account  of  his  first  appearance 
at  a  public  meeting: — 

"On  Monday  last  I  attended  a  meeting  where  I 
\\  as  not  altogether  a  silent  spectator — the  meeting  of 
the  inhabitants  about  the  Christianizing  of  India,  of 
which  you  will  have  seen  an  account.     The  dcsio^na- 
tions  of  those  who  called  it  will  give  you  some  idea 
of  its  complexion — Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  es- 
tablished and  dissenting,  Burghers  and  Antiburghers, 
Relief  and  Baptists.     I  refused  to  join  in  calling  a 
meeting  of  such  a  description,  and  had  once  resolved 
not  to  go  near  it,  as  I  knew  that  no  specific  or  satis- 
factory measure  could  be  expected  from  such  a  com- 
bination.    However,  on  second  thoughts,  I  prevailed 
on  myself  to  go,  having  exoneration  alone  in  the  eye 
of  my  expectation.     The  resolutions  and  the  petition 
were  just  what  I  expected,  and  met  with  unanimous 
consent  and  approbation.    Before  they  were  formally 
agreed  to,  I  craved  liberty  to  state  briefly  my  reasons 
*  Caledonian  Mercury,  April  1,1813. 


180  LIFE  OF  DR.  m'CRIE. 

for  not  being  able  to  concur  in  them.  As  soon  as  I 
stood  and  said  My  Lord!  (the  first  time  the  words 

were  ever  uttered  by  me) stretched  himself 

six  inches, rubbed  his  spectacles,  and  ■ 

literally  came  forward  four  seats  in  order  to  hear  me 
the  better,  expecting  that  I  would  black  myself  for 
ever  by  a  philippic  against  toleration;  but  he  had  for- 
got that  I  was  now  a  Doctor  as  well  as  he,  that  I 

n't' 

could  feel  the  pulse  of  m}^  patient,  and  mix  up  my 
dose  with  a  little  art  as  well  as  he  could  do.  In 
short,  1  waved  the  question  of  toleration.  (Observe 
if  your  father's  face  is  getting  long  while  you  read 
this  to  him.)* 

"Seriously,  however,  I  told  the  meeting  that  I 
could  not  concur  In  any  such  vague  and  loose  mea- 
sure,— one  which  I  was  sure  the  government  would 
not  grant,  and  could  not  grant  even  with  safety  to 
the  state,  in  such  a  country  as  India;  that  if  the  means 
of  religious  instruction  were  to  be  communicated  to 
British  subjects  resident  in  that  country,  and  to  the 
natives,  some  regular  plan  ought  to  be  adopted,  and 
the  matter  not  left  to  individual  and  detached  exer- 
tions, if  any  permanent  or  extensive  effects  were 
expected;  that  government  was  about  to  make  some 
provision  of  this  kind,  and  a  clause  was  to  be  intro- 
duced into  the  new  bill  which  amounted  to  an  exclu- 
sive establishment  of  the  Episcopal  Church  there; 
that  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland  was  equally 
entitled  to  a  share  of  legal  countenance  and  support  in 
that  part  of  the  empire;  that  the  people  of  this  country 
were  called  to  declare  their  sentiments  on  this  head, 
and  that  if  petitions  went  from  Scotland  (now  when 
the  outlines  of  the  bill  were  known)  claiming  merely 
liberty  to  Protestants  of  all  descriptions  to  send  out 
teachers,  it  must  imply  an  acquiescence  in  the  exclu- 
sive establishment  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  India. 
At  the  same  time,  I  signified,  that  I  did  not  make 

*  He  was  accustomed  to  banter  Mr.  Aitken  of  Kirriemuir  on 
entertaining  wliat  he  considered  rather  rigid  notions  on  the  ques 
tion  of  toleration. 


CHRISTIANIZING  OF  INDIA.  181 

any  proposition  on  this  head,  as  I  was  sensible,  from 
the  complexion  of  the  meeting,  and  the  view  with 
which  they  had  been  called  together,  that  they  could 
not  be  expected  to  adopt  it;  but  I  hoped  that  the 
ministers  and  people  of  the  Establishment,  and  dis- 
senting bodies  who  adhered  to  the  standards  of  tbe 
Church  of  Scotland,  would  not  be  inattentive  to  the 
subject,  in  which  they  were  all  interested,  and  would 
not  allow  the  opportunity  of  declaring  their  senti- 
ments to  slip. — 1  have  learnt  since,  that  several  per- 
sons present  are  now  sensible  that  the  business  was 
too  hastily  conducted,  and  that,  had  they  not  consi- 
dered themselves  as  pledged  by  previous  agreement, 
(Sic,  they  would  have  followed  a  different  plan  of 
procedure.  But  1  have  no  expectation  that,  after 
what  has  taken  place,  any  farther  attempt  will  be 
made.  We  are  fallen  into  a  strange  and  awful 
state."* 

This  appeal,  however,  was  not  it  seems,  wholly 
without  effect.  I  am  informed  that  Sir  Henry  Mon- 
crieff,  after  hearing  it,  declared  that  "he  would  not 
lay  his  head  on  his  pillow,"  till  he  had  done  some- 
thing in  the  business.  Mr.  Horner,  probably  on  his 
representation,  introduced  the  subject  into  Parlia- 
ment, and  by  an  arrangement  with  the  East  India 
Company,  provision  was  made  for  the  Presbyterian 
worship  in  Calcutta.  Miserably  defective  as  that  es- 
tablishment was,  it  has  proved  of  late,  under  happier 
auspices,  the  nucleus  of  exertions,  whifh  promise  to 
be  extensively  beneficial  to  that  wide  and  long-neg- 
lected portion  of  our  dominions. 

The  success  which  attended  the  Life  of  Knox  en- 
couraged the  author  to  proceed  with  the  history  of 
the  Reformation  in  the  manner  which  he  had  pro- 
posed to  himself;  and  he  turned  his  attention  to  the 
Life  of  Andrew  Melville.  Though  this  work  did 
not  appear  till  1819,  it  was  begun  shortly  after  the 
publication  of  Knox,  and  considerable  progress  had 
been  made  in  it  so  early  as  1S14;  the  intervening 

*  To  Rev:  John  Aitkcn,  .\bcrdccn,  March  31, 16]  3. 
IG 


182  LIFE  OF  DR.    M^CRIE. 

period  being  occupied  in  those  minute  researches,  the 
labour  of  which  can  be  but  slightly  estimated  from 
tlie  space  in  the  work  occupied  by  its  results.  In 
April  1815,  he  paid  a  visit  to  St.  Andrews,  in  the 
University  of  which  Melville  was  Principal,  where 
he  met  with  t!ie  utmost  attention,  particularly  from 
Dr.  Lee,  the  Professor  of  Church  History,  to  whose 
aid  he  was  greatly  indebted  in  discovering  materials 
for  his  future  work. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  following  year,  he  had  to 
lament  the  loss  of  his  valuable  and  venerable  friend, 
Professor  Bruce,  who  died  ISlh  February  1816.  How 
acutely  he  felt  this  bereavement,  we  may  judge  from 
the  following  correspondence: — 

^^ February  19,  1816. — 1  have  to  communicate 
to  you  the  afflicting  intelligence  that  our  father, 
Mr.  Bruce,  died  suddenly  yesterday  evening.  He 
preached  yesterday,  although  he  appeared  unwell,  and 
by  five  o'clock  he  was  in  eternity.  As  far  as  re- 
garded him,  there  is  much  mercy  to  be  seen  in  the 
manner  of  his  removal.  His  friends  often  contem- 
plated with  uneasiness  the  prospect  of  his  being  over- 
taken with  infirmity  and  sickness,  while  he  had  no 
relation  to  pay  him  the  necessary  attention  in  such 
circumstances.  And  he  himself  was  not  without 
anxiety  upon  this  head.  But  all  these  fears  have  been 
removed,  and  he  has  been  taken  avva}?^  without  pain, 
without  sickness,  without  confinement  to  bed  for  a 
single  day,  without  any  interruption  of  his  ministerial 
work — after  he  had  finished  his  labours,  and  when  he 
was  standing  faithfully  at  his  post.  'The  things, 
concerning  him  have  an  end,'  (the  text  he  preached 
from  on  the  preparation  of  our  last  sacrament.)  He 
has  joined  the  higher  branch  of 'the  family  in  heaven 
and  earth,'  (his  text  on  the  thanksgiving  day.)  And 
is  now  '  without  fault  before  the  throne,'  (the  text  of 
his  last  printed  sermon.)  Fain  would  I  dwell  on  this 
bright  side  of  the  dispensation,  to  divert  my  mind 
from  turning  to  the  dark  side,  to  which  I  have  not 
yet  had  courage  to  give  a  single  look.     The  Lord 


PERSECUTION  OP  FRENCH  PROTESTANTS.       183 

liveth — his  hand  is  not  shortened,  and  he  doth  all 
things  well."  * 

Again  he  writes: — "Feb.  24. — I  cannot  describe 
to  you  the  situation  in  which  1  am.  My  heart  felt 
for  some  time  as  a  stone,  and  even  yet  when  I  am  re- 
covered somewhat  from  the  shock,  there  remaineth 
no  strength  in  me.  The  early  reverence  which  I 
felt  for  liim  as  a  teacher,  mellowed  by  the  familiarity 
and  intimacy  to  which  I  have  since  been  admitted  with 
him,  the  interest  which  he  condescended  to  take  in  my 
affairs,  and  which  he  allowed  me  to  take  in  his,  the 
pleasure  which  I  felt  and  the  benefit  which  I  derived 
from  his  conversation  and  his  correspondence,  have 
all  contributed  to  make  the  stroke  in  some  respects 
more  heavy  to  me  than  perhaps  it  is  to  any  of  his 
brethren,  and  gave  him  a  place  in  my  affections  of 
which  I  was  not  fully  aware,  until  I  was  told  that  I 
could  no  longer  call  him  by  the  name  of  friend  or 
father.  But  how  selfish  am  I  to  intrude  and  dwell 
upon  my  poor  interest  and  personal  feelings,  when 
the  church  and  world  have  suffered  so  great* a  loss! 
My  heart  breaks  when  I  think  of  the  poor  little  flock 
of  students,  from  whose  head  the  Lord  hath  taken 
away  their  master.  May  the  merciful  Shepherd  turn 
his  hand  upon  these  little  ones!" 

About  this  time  the  persecution  of  the  Protes- 
tants in  the  south  of  France,  which  followed  soon 
after  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbon  family  to  the 
throne,  furnished  a  new  topic  of  public  interest  to 
the  subject  of  our  memoirs. -j-     Having  ascertained 

*  To  Rev.  James  Aitken,  Feb.  19,  1816. 

t  It  has  been  the  fate  of  the  Protestants  of  France,  at  every 
stage  of  their  unhappy  history,  to  be  persecuted  for  their  religion 
under  the  pretext  of  political  disaffection  to  tiie  e.xisting  Govern- 
ment. Never  was  the  charge  more  unfounded  than  when  brought 
against  the  Protestants  of  Nismes  in  1815.  In  fact  tlie  majoiity 
of  the  Protestants  beingengaged  in  commerce  and  manulactures, 
the  fall  of  Napoleon  was  to  them  the  dawn  of  prosperity;  and  in 
celebrating  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbons,  their  loyalty  was 
manifested  in  the  most  unequivocal  manner.  But  it  was  deter- 
mined that  this  should  not  preserve  them  from  the  doom  of  here- 
tics.      It  was  openly  declared,  by  persons  of  rank,  that  "  the 


184  LIFE  OF  DR.  M^CRIE. 

the  facts,  all  his  zeal  for  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
his  jealousy  of  Popery,  and  sympathy  with  the  op- 
pressed were  roused  in  behalf  of  the  descendants  of 
the  once  famous  Reformed  Church  of  France,  with 
the  history  of  whose  early  struggles  and  the  shame- 
ful pretexts  under  which  they  were  persecuted,  he 
was  intimately  acquainted.  "  We  have  had  another 
glorious  war,"  he  writes  in  January  1816,  "and 
have  again  triumphed  over  Bonaparte.  And  this  is 
enough  to  us,  although  we  should  be  overwhelmed 
with  debt,  and  though  Popery  and  arbitrary  power 
should  be  re-established  over  a  great  part  of  the  con- 
tinent. Tiiis  is  unquestionably  the  result:  what  the 
intention  of  individual  rulers  or  of  whole  courts 
were,  is  a  matter  of  no  great  importance.  Those 
who  choose  to  rejoice  in  this  result,  and  in  the  mea- 
sures which  naturally  led  to  it,  may  rejoice:  I  do  not. 
Timeo,  et  semper  timebam  Boiirbonios.  I  am  no  alarm- 
ist, but  1  cannot  help  regarding  the  late  atrocities  at 
Nismes,  &c.,  as  a  less  disguised  discovery  of  the  spirit 
of  that' party  in  France  which  has  now  obtained  the 
ascendency,  and  which,  if  not  secretly  encouraged  by 
the  government,  must  at  least  have  the  greatest  influ- 
ence on  their  measures.*' 

But  in  such  a  cause  he  could  not  rest  satisfied  with 
a  private  expression  of  his  feelings,  "  At  a  nume- 
rous and  respectable  meeting*'  of  the  inhabitants, 
held  on  the  25th  of  January  in  Merchants'  Hall, 
with  Sir  Hr.  Moncrieffin  the  chair,  he  seconded,  in  a 
speech  of  considerable  length,  a  set  of  spirited  resolu- 


country  would  never  be  quiet  witliout  a  second  St.  Bartholo- 
mew ;"  and  the  peaceable  Protestants  in  the  department  of  the 
Gard,  were  assailed,  and  cruelly  massacred  by  a  Romish  populace, 
under  the  guidance  of  a  set  of  demons,  rivalling  in  brutality  those 
of  the  Revolution,  amidst  the  cries  of  Vive  la  Croix!  Dowmoith 
the  Protestants !  All  this  was  justified,  both  in  France  and  in 
Britain,  under  the  pretext  of  political  reaction.  The  harrowing 
details  of  these  cruelties,  which  were  unblushinffly  denied  or 
misrepresented  at  the  time,  have  since  been  amply  confirmed. — 
See  History  of  the  Huguenots,  by  W.  S.  Browning,  p.  27G,  new 
edition,  1840. 


PERSECUTION  OP  FRENCH  PROTESTANTS.       185 

tlons  which  were  moved  hy  the  Rev.  Andrew  Thom- 
son, pledging  the  meeting  to  interest  themselves  in  be- 
half of  the  sutFering  French  Protestants.  Hisaddress, 
though  marked  by  what  he  himself  afterwards  de- 
scribed as  "  the  flurry  which  a  first  appearance  causes 
on  nerves  not  very  firmly  strung,"  produced  a  power- 
ful impression.  *  Having,  some  time  after,  preached  a 
sermon  in  behalf  of  the  sufl'erers,  the  sympathy  of  the 
public  was  shown  by  a  collection  of  fifty  pounds. 
And  in  a  "Review  of  Pamplilets  and  Documents  on 
the  Persecution  of  the  Protestants  of  France,"  which 
appeared  in  the  Christian  Instructor  for  February 
and  April  1816,  he  vindicated  them  from  the  asper- 
sions of  the  newspaper  press,  and  of  the  Christian  Ob- 
server, which,  strangely  enough,  attempted  to  palliate 
the  atrocities  of  their  enemies.  In  this  Review, 
accompanied  with  some  illustrations,  the  following 
sentiment  occurs,  whicli  from  the  weight  evidently 
attached  to  it  by  the  author,  may  be  here  reprinted: 
'•'It  is  a  truth  that  ought  not  to  be  concealed,  and 
which  has  not  yet  been  sufficiently  acknowledged, 
— a  truth  which,  on  account  of  the  important  admo- 
nitions which  it  conveys  to  tbe  present  and  succeed- 
ing generations,  deserves  not  merely  to  be  recorded 

*  The  following  note  from  Dr.  Stuart  which  was  rescued  from 
the  flames  by  Dr.  M-Crie,  witii  the  reinarlc,  that  it  was  the  last  he 
received  from  that  worthy  man,  may  be  here  inserted; — "My 
dear  Sir,  I  regret  very  much  that  want  of  presence  of  mind  and 
of  recollection,  prevented  me  from  mentioning  some  things  yes- 
terday, and  in  particular  the  conviction  1  received,  of  the  suffer- 
ings of  these  poor  people  in  jVismes,  &cc.,  being  occasioned  by 
their  being  Protestants.  This  conviction  was  entirely  the  effect 
of  what  Sir  H.  M.  (Henry  Moncrieff)  justly  called  your  'lumi- 
nous and  impressive  address.'  I  do  not  think  you  will  do  justice 
to  the  cause  if  you  do  not  put  the  substance  in  writing  and  give 
it  to  the  newspapers.  1  am  very  sorry,  at  the  same  time,  that 
want  of  courage  prevented  me  from  maintaining  more  explicitly 
and  steadily  that  immediate  subscriptions  are  requisite  proofs  ot 
our  sincerity.  I  have  as  little  reason  for  parting  with  money  as 
most,  but  I  think  all  we  say  of  sympathy  without  it,  is  i-ox  ct 
preterea,  &c.  .'is  Christians  and  Frotcstants  is  the  preamble.  I 
judged  I  should  have  been  scouted  to  have  said  I  do  not  approve 
of  this.  Why  exclude  '  Unbelievers  and  Catholics,'  if  they  chose 
to  join  in  our  resolutions.     Ever  yours,  C.  Stuart." 


186  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

with  pen  and  ink,  but  to  be  graven  with  a  pen  of 
iron  and  the  point  of  a  diamond,  on  a  monument 
more  durable  than  brass, — that  the  wretched  and 
wicked  policy  pursued  with  respect  to  the  Protes- 
tants from  the  days  of  Louis  XIV.  was  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal causes  of  the  Revolution  in  France,  and  espe- 
cially of  the  horrid  excesses  and  impieties  with 
which  it  was  attended."* 

The  publication  of  the  Life  of  Knox  had  now  con- 
siderably extended  the  circle  of  Dr.  M'Crie's  acquaint- 
ance, and  among  the  first  it  introduced  him  to  that 
of  the  late  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson,  with  whom  he 
formed  a  friendship  which  continued  unbroken  till  the 
death  of  that  celebrated  and  much  lamented  indivi- 
dual. About  the  time  at  which  we  have  arrived,  Dr. 
Thomson  had  little  more  than  commenced  that  brief 
but  brilliant  career,  in  the  course  of  which  he  vvas 
mainly  instrumental,  by  the  force  of  his  talents, 
eloquence,  and  decision  of  character,  in  reintroducing 
into  the  Church  of  Scotland,  the  reign  of  evangeli- 
cal preaching,  and  of  sound  ecclesiastical  principle, 
which  have  ever  since  been  gradually  gaining  the 
ascendency  in  her  pulpits  and  councils.  The  adhe- 
rents of  error,  and  the  advocates  of  infidelity,  found 
themselves,  to  their  annoyance  and  astonishment, 
exposed  to  a  discharge  of  merciless  ridicule  and  high 
disdain,  as  well  as  resistless  argument;  the  world,  in 
short,  was  met  on  its  own  ground,  and  worsted  with 
its  own  weapons;  and,  as  usually  happens  in  such  cases, 

*  Christian  Instrucl.or,  vol.  xii.,  p.  133. — Mr.  Alison  does  not 
mention  this  among  his  "  remote  causes  of  the  Revolution."  His 
opinion  is,  that  "  France  was  not  enslaved  because  she  remained 
Catholic;  l)ut  she  remained  Catholic  because  she  was  enslaved." 
{Hist,  of  the  French  Revolution,  vol.  i.,  p.  57 .j  But  was  it  not  by 
Catholicism  that  she  was  enslaved?  And  can  we  suppose  that 
despotism  would  have  flourished  so  long,  or  terminated  its  reign 
in  such  a  direful  explosion,  had  Popish  policy  and  tyranny  not 
succeeded  in  banishing  the  best  subjects  of  France,  and  "  blasting 
the  shoots  of  religious  freedom  ?"  Both  members  of  Mr.  Alison's 
antithesis  tell  the  truth.  France  was  enslaved  because  she 
remained  Catholic;  and  she  remained  Catholic  because  she  was 
enslaved. 


DR.  ANDREW  THOMSON'.  187 

the  world  got  angry,  and  pathetically  complained  of 
the  "bad  spirit"  with  which  it  had  been  treated. 
Never,  however,  was  the  charge  less  merited.  Dr. 
Thomson  was  one  of  those  persons  whose  real  cha- 
racter, when  known  in  private  life,  is  found  to  be  pre- 
cisely the  reverse  of  the  picture,  which  the  ima- 
gination had  formed  of  it  from  public  appearances 
— who  are  either  greatly  beloved  or  deeply  hated — 
and  who  receive  from  posterity  the  justice  denied 
them  by  their  contemporaries.  "Bold  as  a  lion,"  yet 
possessing  all  the  generosity  ascribed  to  that  noble  ani- 
mal— matchless  and  unsparing  as  a  public  disputant, 
yet  without  the  least  drop  of  bigotry  or  bitterness 
— open-hearted  as  the  day — and  in  his  private  cha- 
racter frank,  bland  and  engaging  in  manners,  and  full 
of  the  milk  of  human  kindness.  Dr.  Thomson  was  as 
much  the  idol  of  his  friends,  as  he  was  the  object 
of  terror  and  dislike  to  his  opponents.  When  to  this 
we  add  his  fearless  independence  of  mind,  his  devoted 
attachment  to  the  standards  of  the  Church,  and  his 
honest  zeal  for  her  reformation,  we  need  not  wonder 
that  between  such  a  man  and  the  author  of  the  Life  of 
Knox,  there  should  have  arisen  an  intercourse  of  the 
most  cordial  and  confidential  kind,  notwithstanding 
the  personal  and  professional  ditferences  which  dis- 
tinguished them.  Dr.  Thomson's  visits  were  short 
but  frequent,  and  in  the  hilarity  and  fascinating  hu- 
mour of  his  conversation,  our  author  found  an  agree- 
able relaxation  from  his  severer  studies;  the  hearty 
laugh,  proceeding  from  "the  study,"  was  the  well- 
known  indication  to  the  whole  household,  that  he  was 
closeted  with  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson.  "It  was  in 
June  1813,"  says  Dr.  Robert  Burns  in  a  letter  to  the 
present  writer,  "that  1  was  first  introduced  to  Dr. 
M'Crie  by  the  late  Dr.  Thomson.  We  spent  a  most 
agreeable  afternoon.  I  had  been  ordained  about  two 
years  before — was  quite  raw — and  not  very  conversant 
with  the  history  of  our  Church.  Nor  do  I  think 
that  at  that  date  Mr.  Thomson's  information  as  to 
those  matters  was  very  extensive.     Well  do  I  re- 


iSS  LIFE   OF  DR.   M'CKIE. 

collect  of  his  putting  to  your  father  the  question, 
'Can  you  tell  me  any  thing  ahout  Robert  Rollock?' 
Your  father  was  at  home  on  the  subject,  and  told  us 
a  good  deal  about  the  Principal  and  his  newly  erected 
college;  and  many  subjects  of  such  a  kind  afforded 
materials  for  pleasing  and  instructive  conversation. 
Next  morning  we  breakfasted  with  him  at  his  house, 
and  the  chief  topic  of  converse  was,  a  review  of  the 
Life  of  Knox  in  the  Quarterly  that  had  just  appeared, 
and  not  a  little  amusement  did  it  afford  us.  It  was 
about  this  time  that  he  began  to  write  those  able 
articles  in  the  Instructor  which  shed  such  a  lustre  on 
that  periodical." 

The  epistolary  correspondence  between  Dr.  Thom- 
son and  our  author,  from  their  proximity  to  each 
other,  consisted  of  little  more  than  notes,  character- 
ized by  that  strain  of  familiar  repartee  in  which  they 
were  accustomed  to  unbend  themselves  in  private 
intercourse.     The  following  may  serve  as  a  specimen. 

To  the  ^ev.  Acdrevv  Tiiomson.— Orf.  30, 1813. 
'^Dear  Sir, — Sagacious  as  you  are,  and  lively  as 
your  imagination  is,  I  am  sure  you  will  not  be  able 
to  divine  the  reason  .of  my  intruding  on  your  pro- 
found studies  this  evening. — 'What!  more  last  words 
of  John  Knox?  or  more  last  groans  of  Cardinal  Bea- 
toun?  Is  it  No  Popery?  or  is  it  blood  to  eat?' — 
Guess  again.  I  was  waited  upon  this  forenoon  by 
two  gen-tlemen,  strangers  to  me.  Did  you  ever  en- 
tertain any  suspicion  that  what  you  had  said  in  your 
last  review,  respecting  the  East  India  Chaplains,  was 
actionable?— ^y^\^&i\  a  new  prosecution?' — Guess 
again.  You  know  Mr.  Waugh.  Did  you  ever  hear 
any  word  of  a  new  magazine.^-an  anti-Christian  In- 
structor?— ^'What!  have  you  been  applied  to,  to  be- 
come editor?' — Why  «ot?  I  hope  you  will  have  no 
objection. — By  this  time,  you  will  think  you  are  at 
no  loss  to  divine  my  drift,  although  you  may  be  of 
opinion  that  I  might  have  chosen  a  more  seasonable 
tigie  for  communicating  such  intelligence.     I  must 


CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  DR.  THOMSON.         ISO 

tell  you,  however,  that  you  are  as  far  from  the  truth 
as  ever.  But  I  shall  now  state  my  object,  provided 
you  will  believe  that  I  am  as  serious  in  what  follows, 
as  I  have  been  foolishly  jocular  in  what  I  have  already 
written. 

"I  am  exceedingly  anxious  that  you  should  turn 
your  attention  to  the  Reformed  Church  in  France, 
with  the  view  of  writing  its  history  from  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Reformation  into  that  kingdom  down, 
at  least,  to  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes. 
It  is  a  noble  and  most  animating  subject.     My  ima- 
gination has  often  warmed  at  the  contemplation  of 
it;  but  it  always  cooled  again  vvhen  I  considered  its 
difficulty,  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  hand 
that  it  had  been  already  executed  by  Laval.     But  I 
have  been  lately  looking  into  his  work,  which  I  read 
long  ago,  and  I  find  that  while  it  contains  a  large 
collection  of  facts,  its  defects  in  point  of  execution 
are  far  greater  than  I  imagined.     It  is  written  in  the 
poorest,  most  frigid  and  confused  manner  imaginable; 
so  that  nobody  will  read  it  but  one  who  can  be  satis- 
fied with  bare  facts.     We  have  nothing  worth  read- 
ing even  relating  to  the  civil  history  of  that  interest- 
ing period,  until  you  come  to  the  history  of  l^ouis 
Xiy.     You  will  meet  witli  some  of  the  finest,  and 
some  of  the  worst  of  characters.      There  is  ample 
scope  for  politico-ecclesiastical  disquisition.     I  need 
not  remind  you  of  the  near   resemblance    between 
the  Reformed  Church  of  France  and  our  own.     The 
diligence  and  zeal  of  the  French  refugees  have  col- 
lected the  most  ample  materials,  and  the  only  thing 
that  is  wanting  is  a  hand  to  digest  them.       Quick, 
with  whom  you  are  acquainted,  has  given  a  journal 
of  their  Synods;  but  neither  he  nor  Laval  are  read. 
Aymons,  whose  work  has  never  been  translated,  has 
many  things  omitted  by  Quick.     In  short,  1  am  con- 
vinced that  it  is  a  grand  task,  tliat  you  would   not 
find  it  impracticable,  and  that  you  would  execute  it 
con  amove.     I  need  not  add,  that  any  books  which  I 
have  on  the  subject  will  be  at  your  service. — I  must 


190  LIFE   OF  DU  jM'CKIE. 

have  an  early  conversation  with  you  on  this  point; 
but  the  pi'ojeci  struck  me  so  forcibly  this  afternoon, 
that  I  could  not  keep  it  in  my  breast  even  till  Mon- 
day.— I  remain  yours,  Tho.  M'Crie. 

"P.  iS'.— By  another  hand.  [His  left  hand.] 
"Doctor  M'Crie  is  a  cunning  Fox.  Beware  of 
him.  He  is  afraid  that  you  are  beginning  to  acquire 
a  taste  for  Scots  History.  And  lest  you  tpke  it  out 
of  his  hands,  would  divert  your  attention  to  a  foreign 
subject." 

How  different  (and  yet  equally  characteristic)  is 
the  strain  of  the  next  communication! 

To  the  Rev.  Andrew  Thomson. — Saturday  Evening. 

"So  your  daughter  has  at  last  escaped  from  the 
sorrows  and  sins  of  this  life,  and  has  left  you  behind 
to  witness  and  to  endure  them.  Is  not  this  the  true 
light  in  which  you  should  view  her  departure?  and 
ought  not  tliis  consideration,  if  it  does  not  abate  our 
grief,  to  give  it  another  direction  than  what  it  natu- 
rally takes?— What  a  beautiful  passage  is  that  in  the 
Lamentations,  beginning,  'It  is  good  for  a  man  to 
bear  the  yoke  in  his  youth!'  You  have  seen  the 
trutli  of  it  in  your  daughter,  and  I  trust  you  feel,  and 
will  feel  it  in  your  own  experience,  resulting  from 
this  and  from  former  tribulations.  I  lectured  the 
passage  lately,  but  did  not  reach  its  spirit,  and  I 
would  like  to  discourse  on  it  again. 

"1  have  no  doubt  that  both  you  and  Mrs,  Thomson 
will  remember  the  exhortation  that  speaketh  to  you 
as  to  children,  ,and  remember  it  as  the  word  of  God 
and  not  of  man.  All  have  need  of  affliction.  Do 
not  ministers  need  it  in  a  special  manner?  And  are 
there  not  certain  periods  of  their  life,  or  certain  situa- 
tions in  which  they  are  placed,  that  eminently  re- 
quire it,  and  in  which  they  may  discern  the  wisdom 
and  love  and  faithfulness  of  Him  who  sends  it — 
their  Heavenly  Father  and  Divine  Master?  If  I 
have  reason  to  be  thankful  for  any  thing,  it  is  for 


CHRISTIAN  INSTRUCTOR.  191 

seasonable  chastisements — how  I  have  improved  them 
is  a  different  question.  Good  were  the  words  of  the 
prophet,  'Tliou,  0  Lord,  knowest  me:  thou  liast  seen 
me,  and  tried  mine  heart  toward  thee.'  (Jer.  xii. 
3.)  If  tiiere  were  no  other  thing  to  reconcile  us  to 
afflictions,  tiiis  should  be  enough,  that  they  are  neces- 
sary to  fit  us  for  the  better  and  the  fuller  discharge 
of  our  duty  to  our  people,  according  to  the  apostle's 
declaration,  'Whether  we  be  afflicted,  it  is  for  your 
consolation  and  salvation,  which  is  effectual  in  the 
enduring  of  the  same  sufferings  which  we  also  suffer.' 
I  am,  Dear  Sir,  yours  very  truly, 

"Tno.  M'Crie." 

Very  soon  after  his  introduction  to  Dr.  Thomson, 
he  began  to  contribute  occasionally,  though  by  no 
means  regularly,  to  the  pages  of  the  Christian  In- 
structor. His  first  article  in  this  miscellany  seems  to 
have  been  a  Review,  in  July  1812,  of  "Mihie  on 
Presbytery  and  Episcopacy;"  wherein  he  brings  his 
historical  knowledge  to  bear  rather  hard  upon  the 
Episcopal  "Minister  of  St.  Andrew's  Chapel,  Banff." 
In  August  1813,  he  again  takes  the  field  against 
Episcopacy,  in  a  Review  of  Simeon's  "Discourses  on 
the  Excellency  of  the  Liturgy."  And  it  appears  he 
was  the  "Friend,"  who,  in  April  1815,  wrote  some 
severe  strictures  on  the  Review  of  "Mant'sBampton 
Lectures,"  which  appeared  in  some  preceding  num- 
bers of  the  Instructor.  These  were  answered  in  a 
following  number  by  the  reviewer,  Dr.  Burns  of 
Paisley,  who,  in  communicating  this  fact  to  the 
writer,  adds,  with  the  amiable  frankness  of  his  cha- 
racter, "This  was  the  only  time  when  I  had  the 
temerity  to  break  a  lance  with  the  author  of  the  Life 
of  Knox.  I  believe  your  father  was  in  the  right.  I 
have  learned  moi'c  of  the  Manis  than  I  then  knew." 
The  following  letter  refers  to  a  "Review  of  the 
Christian  Observer  on  the  Standards  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,"  in  the  same  periodical  for  June  181G 
from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Somcrville  of  Drumel- 


192  LIFE  OP  DR.  JM'CRIE. 

zier — in  which  tlie  creed  and  discipline  of  the  Scot- 
tish Church  are  vindicated,  in  a  very  superior  style, 
from  the  charge  of  having  fostered  skepticism  in 
Scotland,  in  consequence  of  their  being  "too  syste- 
matic, too  exclusive,  severe  and  dogmatical."  The 
letter  is  evidently  written  in  the  first  fervour  of  ad- 
miration, excited  by  the  healthy  spirit  of  genuine 
liberality  and  Presbyterianism,  breathing  in  this  as  in 
all  the  productions  of  that  excellent  divine. 

To  the  Rev.  Andrew  Thomson.— Jm/«/  28,  1816. 

"My  dear  Sir, — Beasti  vie!  The  first  part  of  the 
Critique  on  the  Observer  I  read  with  pleasure,  but 
the  second  part  has  delighted  me  beyond  expression. 
I  am  ashamed  of  having  put  my  hand  to  it  by  pre- 
tending to  help  it,  and  by  crudely  suggesting  addi- 
tions which  are  brought  forward  in  better  manner 
and  fitter  place.  But  you  know  the  old  proverb, 
'Fools  and  children  should  never  see  half-done  work.' 
The  only  excuse  I  have  is,  that  you  led  me  into 
the  snare.  Tell  Somerville,  that  though  he  is  no 
Doctor  (and  I  hope  never  will  be  one,  except  in 
the  pages  of  the  Observer,)  he  has  more  knowledge  of 

divinity  than  any  doctor  I  know,  our  friend 

not  excepted, — and  that  you  know  is  saying  a  great 
deal.  Tell  him,  that  if  all  the  General  Assembly 
were  like-minded  with  him,  I  would  willingly  become 
their  door-keeper;  and  that  if  I  could  be  assured  that 
there  were  fifty  as  true  stanch  thorough  out-and-in 
Calvinists  and  Presbyterians  in  the  Jiuld  Kirk,  as  I 
think  him  to  be,  I  would  not  be  much  afraid  to  enter 
its  walls  to-morrow,  convinced  that  we  would  soon 
be  able  to  rout  the  whole  phalanx  of  the  mode- 
rates and  religious  mongrels.  Ay,  and  we  should  not 
be  long  in  having  a  Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  and 
we  would  enter  England  at  the  head  of  20,000  good, 
hearty,  invincible  (not  soldiers  armed  with  guns  and 
swords,  like  General  Leslie's,  but)  Christian  Instruc- 
tors, and  we  would  easily  put  to  flight  the  whole 
host   of  Christian   Observers^   Britisii    Critics,   and 


REVIEW  OF  TALES  OF  MY  LANDLORD.  193 

Antl-Jacobin  Reviewers,  Tell  him — but  if  you  tell 
him  any  more,  not  knowing  me  so  well  as  you  do, 
and  judging  of  me  from  my  characteristic  soberness, 
he  will  think  that  I  have  become  cracked, — an  evil, 
which  as  I  do  not  happen  to  be  one  of  the  theological 

geniuses  of  the  age,  like or ,  I  expect  to 

escape.  In  all  this  I  assure  you  that  1  only  express 
what  I  feel,  and  you  may  judge  from  this  of  the  cause 
which  has  lifted  my  feelings  so  much  above  their 
sober  level. 

"I  have  not  seen  you  since  Dr.  Chalmers'  Assem- 
bly oration.  I  was  dazzled  and  delighted  with  it,  but 
not  so  much  charmed  as  with  the  paper  you  have  sent 
me  to-night. — Yours  ever,  Tho.  M'Crie." 

The  next  pnrt  of  this  correspondence  is  interesting, 
from  the  allusions  made  to  the  Review  of  the  Tales 
of  my  Landlord,  a  task  which,  it  appears.  Dr.  M'Crie 
undertook  at  the  solicitation  of  his  friend.  Dr.  Thom- 
son. 

To  the  Rev.  Dr.  M'Crie.— £>£C.  4,  1816. 

"My  dear  Sir, — I  hope  you  are  not  forgetting 
your  promise  to  review  Jedidiah  Cleishbotham.  My 
opinion  now  is,  that  the  author  is  the  author  of  Guy 
Mannering,  and  that  he  is  Walter  Scott.  I  will  tell 
you  the  ground  of  my  opinion  when  we  meet.  Black- 
wood is  not  close  enough  for  us  cunning  dogs.  At 
the  same  time,  don't  let  your  zeal  for  the  Cove- 
nanters, and  your  eagerness  to  be  revenged  on  their 
vile  calumniators,  make  you  neglect  the  Bishop 
and  Archdeacon  of  Calcutta.*  They  must  have 
a  niche  in  our  January  number.  And  pray  do  them 
justice. 

"  The  Christian  Observer  is  come.  There  is  a 
paper  in  it  signed  "A  Scotchwoman," —  in  which  the 
good  lady  attributes  her  conversion  to  the  English 

*  Dr.  Thomson  here  refers  to  Bishop  JNTiddleton's  Charge,  and 
Archdeacon  I,oring's  Sermon  on  Coiitirniation^  both  of  which 
were  reviewed  in  the  Instructor,  August  ltil7j — the  latter  by  Dc. 
M'Crie. 

17 


194  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

Liturgy  in  England,  calls  our  form  of  worship  dull 
and  uninteresting,  and  at  the  same  time  complains 
that  in  this  country  the  Episcopalians  are  very  un- 
sound and  very  unedifying.  The  paper  appears  to 
me  to  be  got  up  for  the  occasion.  As  this  is  a  sort 
of  unfair  indirect  way  of  carrying  on  the  war,  I  have 
a  great  mind  to  write  a  conversion  or  two  for  the 
Instructor;  and  give  all  the  credit  to  our  own  stand- 
ards. Why  should  not  an  Englishwoman  be  con- 
verted by  a  Scotch  Presbyterian — even  by  a  man 
clothed  in  "  bottomless  breeks?"     By  the  way.  Dr. 

agrees  with  us  in  thinking  that  Walter  has  not 

done  justice  to  the  Covenanters,  But  don't  quote 
his  authority  in  your  review.  I  am,  my  dear  sir, 
yours  most  sincerely,  Andrew  Thomson." 

To  the  Rev.  Andrew  Thomson.— Z)cc.  11,  1816. 

"  My  dear  Sir, — You  are  prodigiously  moderate 
in  your  expectations  when  you  look  for  two  reviews 
from  me  in  one  month.  You  imagine,  1  suppose, 
that  my  brain  is  as  large  and  as  fertile  as  your  own, 
a  mistake  which  you  might  have  avoided  williout  the 
assistance  of  Dr.  Spurzheim.  Of  the  Indian  Arch- 
dean  and  his  Presbyterian  rival  1  have  not  thought, 
since  the  day  after  that  on  which  you  sent  me  their 
productions.  I  feel  no  inclination,  nay,  I  actually  feel 
a  strong  disinclination  and  repugnance  to  take  up 
the  subject,  and  could  do  it  no  justice  at  present,  far 
less,  what  you  expect,  great  justice.  After  a  slice  of 
the  fattest  and  nicest  bit  of  the  flesh  of  Cleishbotham, 
Claverhouse,  Dalziel  and  other  savage  wild  animals, 
I  have,  I  confess,  a  greater  longing  to  be  at  them, 
and  could  instantly  fall  on  without  waiting  for  your 
formal  concurrence  and  directions.  But  the  vexa- 
tious circumstance  is,  that  they  are  live  stock  and  must 
be  killed  before  they  are  eaten,  and  this  will  be  tough, 
not  to  say  dangerous  work.  Figure  apart,  are  you 
really  in  earnest  about  reviewing  Tales  of  my  Land- 
lord? Is  there  not  an  awkwardness  in  your  en- 
gaging in  such  a  work?    Do  you  mean  it  to  be  execu- 


REVIEW  OF  TALES  OF  MY  LANDLORD.  195 

ted  in  a  serious  strain,  or  in^  merry  mood,  or  in  a 
manner  made  up  of  both.  (It  is  always  understood 
tliat  you  and  your  underling  are  capable  of  both.) 
How  will  the  Black  Dwarf  look  in  the  Christian  In- 
structor? or  do  you  mean  to  make  a  scape-goat  of 
him,  in  the  way  of  sending  him  off  with  a  single 
stroke  or  two?  Can  you  tell  me  any  thing  about 
The  Scotsman? — Yours,  Tho.  M'Crie." 

To  the  Rev.  Dr.  M'Crie.— 5,  Young  Street,  Dec.  11,  1816. 

"My  dear  Sir, — To  answer  all  your  questions 
particularly  I  shall  not  attempt:  but  it  may  perhaps 
satisfy  you  if  I  say  once  for  all — review  the  Tales 
and  take  3'our  own  mode  of  doing  it.    Begin  imme- 
diately and  go  on  with  all  the  rapidity  of  one  who 
has  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer.     Spare  not  the  vile 
Tory  of  an  author.     Praise  his  Scotch,  which  is  ex- 
ceeding good,  but  reprobate   his  principles  with  all 
your  might.     At  the  same  time  I  cannot  well  let 
you  off  anent  the  Bishop  and  Archdeacon  of  Calcut- 
ta.    The  January  number  must  contain  our  Indian 
Recreations,  and  you  will  not  grudge  a  forenoon's 
skelping  of  the  Eastern  dignitaries.     But  however 
that  may  be,  go   on  with  Cleishbotham.     1  long  to 
see  the  Covenanters  rescued  from  his  paws.     1  shall 
send  you  your  Scots  Worthies.      I   have   not  the 
Cloud  (of  Witnesses,)  but  I  dare  say  Blackwood  has 
by  this  time  got  back  his  copy  from   the  author  of 
the  Tales,  and  I  shall  desire   him   to  transmit  it  to 
you  without  delay.     You  may  do  with  the  Black 
Dwarf  what  you  have  a  mind.    He  is  an  ugly,  nasty, 
hatefu'  body.     I  know  nothing  about  the  Scotsman, 
and  every  body  to  whom  I  speak  seems  to  be  as  ig- 
norant as  myself.      I  should  certainly  like  to  see  an 
able,  consistent,  well-principled  Whig  paper  in  Edin- 
burgh.    But  alas!   this  is  not  the  soil  for  such  good 
plants. — 1  am,  my  dear  sir,  yours  most  sincerely, 

"Andrew  Thomson." 

The  first  part  of  the  Review  of  the  Tales  appeared 


196  LIFE  OF  DR.  INI^CRIE. 

in  the  Christian  Instructor  for  January  1S17  and  it 
was  continued  in  the  two  succeeding  numbers  for 
February  and  March.  The  author,  in  spite  of  all  his 
precautions,  was  speedily  identified  by  the  public. 
The  review  (which,  by  the  way,  was  written  while 
he  was  suffering  under  severe  ilhiess)  afforded  him 
an  opportunity  of  vindicating  the  characters  of  our 
persecuted  ancestors  from  the  slanderous  misrepre- 
sentations of  high  church  and  Jacobitical  writers.* 
And  seldom  has  any  production  of  the  kind  created 
such  a  sensation.  Many  who  had  read  the  Tale  of 
Old  Mortality,  merely  as  an  amusing  piece  of  fiction, 
were  led  to  regard  it  in  the  more  serious  light  of  a 
libel,  professing  to  be  founded  on  historical  truth,  but 
in  reality  exhibiting  a  ridiculous  caricature  of  the 
pious  and  patriotic  Covenanters.  So  important  were 
the  charges  substantiated  against  the  novel,  so  unfa- 
vourable the  impression  produced  against  it,  that  the 
author  of  the  Tales  found  it  necessar)'  to  vindicate 
himself  in  a  review  of  his  own  production  which  ap- 
peared in  the  Quarterly  Review  for  April  1817. 
That  this  reviewal,  so  far  at  least  as  his  own  vindica- 
tion was  concerned,  was  the  production  of  Sir  Wal- 
ter Scott,  has  been  acknowledged  by  his  biographer, 
"The  late  excellent  biographer  of  John  Knox,  Dr. 
Thomas  M'Crie,  had,"  says  Mr.  Lockhart,  "  con- 
sidered the  representation  of  the  Covenanters  in  the 
story  of  Old  Mortality  as  so  unfair  as  to  demand  at 
his  hands  a  very  serious  rebuke.  The  doctor  forth- 
with published  in  a  magazine  called  the  Edinburgh 
Christian  Instructor,  a  set  of  papers,  in  which  the 
historical  foundations  of  that  tale  were  attacked  with 
indignant  warmth;  and  though  Scott,  when  he  first 
heard  of  these  invectives,  expressed  his  resolution 
never  even  to  read  tliem,  he  found  the  impression 

*"The  truth  is,  that  we  would  not  have  deemed  the  Tales 
worthy  of  the  notice  which  we  have  bestowed  on  them,  had  we 
not  been  convinced  that  the  ordinary  sources  of  public  information 
are  deeply  polluted." — Rcvicio  of  Talcs,  Christian  Instructor^  vol. 
xiv.,  p.  17G. 


REVIEW  OF  TALES  OF  MY  LANDLORD.  197 

they  were  producing  so  strong  that  he  soon  changed 
his  purpose,  and  finally  devoted  a  very  large  part  of 
his  article  for  the  Quarterly  Review  to  an  elaborate 
defence  of  his  own  picture  of  the  Covenanters."* 

The  substance  of  Sir  Walter's  defence  may  be  seen 
from  the  following  correspondence,  given  by  his 
biographer: — "What  my  kind  correspondent  had 
anticipated  on  account  of  Jed idiah's  effusions  has  ac- 
tually taken  place;  and  the  author  of  a  very  good  life 
of  Knox  has,  I  understand,  made  a  most  energetic 
attack,  upon  the  score  that  the  old  Covenanters  are 
not  treated  with  decorum.  I  have  not  read  it,  and 
certainly  never  shall.  I  really  think  there  is  nothing 
in  the  book,  that  is  not  very  fair  and  legitimate 
subject  of  raillery;  and  I  own  I  have  my  suspicions 
of  that  very  susceptible  devotion  which  so  readily 
takes  offence:  such  men  should  not  read  books  of 
amusement;  but  do  they  suppose,  because  they  are 
virtuous,  and  choose  to  be  thought  outrageously  so, 
"  there  shall  be  no  cakes  and  ale?" — "Ay,  by  our 
lady,  and  ginger  shall  be  hot  in  the  mouth  too."f  As 
for  the  consequences  to  the  author,  they  can  only 
affect  his  fortune  or  his  temper — the  former,  such  as 
it  is,  has  been  long  fixed  beyond  shot  of  these  sort  of 
fowlers;  and  for  my  temper,  I  considered  always  that 
by  subjecting  myself  to  the  irritability  which  much 
greater  authors  have  felt  on  occasions  of  literary  dis- 
pute, I  should  be  laying  in  a  plentiful  stock  of  un- 
happiness  for  the  rest  of  my  life.  I  therefore  make 
it  a  rule  never  to  read  the  attacks  made  upon  me."j; 
This,  however,  would   not  do;   Sir  Walter  found, 

*  Lockhart's  Life  of  Sir  W.  Scott,  vol.  iv.,  p.  34. 

t  This  dramatic  witticism  is  repeated  in  the  Review,  and  seems 
to  liave  been  as  great  a  favourite  with  Sir  Walter,  as  it  was  with 
Lord  Byron,  who  has  prefixed  it  as  a  motto  to  one  of  his  worst 
pieces.  We  do  not  know  if  Scott  would  have  considered  it  a 
proof  of  "  outrageous  virtue  "  to  condemn  the  impurities  of"  Don 
Juan;"  but  he  was  quite  mistaiien  if  he  supposed  that  his  anta- 
gonist could  not  relish  innocent  mirth ,  either  in  common  converse 
or  in  the  pages  of  fiction. 

?  Lockhart's  Life,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  44,  45. 
17* 


198  LIFE   OP  DR.  M'CRIE. 

when  he  read  the  review,  that  his  reviewer  aimed  at 
higher  objects  then  either  "his  fortune  or  his  tem- 
per;" and  it  required  all  his  ingenuity  to  parry  what 
Mr.  Lockhart  is  pleased  to  call  "invectives,"  but 
what  a  great  part  of  the  public  felt  to  be  a  mild  and 
dignified,  though  indignant  exposure  of  the  historical 
blunders  and  misrepresentations  of  the  novelist.  Of 
the  defence  set  up  in  the  Quarterly,  it  may  suffice  to 
observe,  that  it  consists  for  the  most  part  of  excerpts 
referring  to  the  most  questionable  sayings  and  doings 
of  the  Covenanters,  very  easy  to  adduce,  but  totally 
insufficient  to  rebut  the  grand  charge  brought  against 
the  author  of  the  Tales — that  of  having  studiously 
concealed  the  excellencies  of  these  worthy  men,  under 
fictitious  characters  which  have  nothing  to  redeem 
them  from  abhorrence  or  contempt,  while  he  as  care- 
fully disguises  the  crimes  and  cruelties  of  their 
persecutors,  the  most  atrocious  of  whom  he  holds 
up  to  the  admiration  of  his  readers.  The  disclo- 
sure which  has  been  lately  made  of  the  private 
sentiments  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  the  Life  to 
which  we  have  referred,  renders  it  quite  super- 
fluous now  to  show  how  far  his  early  and  deeply 
rooted  prejudices  against  the  Presbyterians  must 
have  assisted  in  giving  shape  and  colouring  to  his 
picture  of  them.  The  author  who  could,  in  his  con- 
fidential moments,  and  in  the  coolness  of  epistolary 
writing,  betray  such  a  melancholy  state  of  feeling 
as  to  express  his  admiration  of  the  "  noble  savage" 
Claverhouse,  and  talk  of"  the  beastly  Covenanters,"* 

*  "  As  for  my  good  friend  Dundee,  I  cannot  admit  his  culpa- 
bility in  the  extent  you  allege;  and  it  is  scandalous  of  the  Sun- 
day bard  to  join  in  your  condemnation,  "and  yet  come  of  a 
noble  Graeme!''  I  admit  he  was  a  la  at  soil  peu  savage,  but  he  was 
a  nobl€  savage;  and  the  beastly  Covenanters  against  whom  he 
acted,  hardly  had  any  claim  to  be  called  men,  unless  what  was 
founded  on  their  walking  upon  their  hind  feet.  You  can  hardly 
conceive  the  perfidy,  cruelt}^  an<J  stupidity  of  these  people,  ac- 
cording to  the  accounts  they  have  themselves  preserved.  But  I 
had  many  cavalier  prejudices  instilled  into  me,  as  my  ancestor 
was  a  Killiecraiikie  man.'' — Scott  to  Southey,  15th  December 
1«07.     Life  of  Sir  W.  Scott,  vol.  iL ,  p.  134. 


REVIEW  OP  TALES  OF  MY  LANDLORD.  199 

was  not  likely  to  do  either  of  them  great  justice  in  a 
work  of  fiction.  It  has  been  said,  bat  on  no  good 
ground,  that  Sir  Walter  Scott  complained  of  having 
been  personally  ill  treated  by  Dr.  M'Crie  in  his  re- 
view of  the  Tales.  Nothing  of  this  kind  appears  in 
his  private  correspondence;  nor  can  we  see  any  foun- 
dation for  it  in  the  review.  If  the  complaint  referred 
to  those  passages  in  which  Scott  is  evidently  pointed 
at  as  the  author  of  the  Tales,  the  answer  is  ready, 
that  nothing  is  charged  against  him  but  what  is  found- 
ed on  his  avowed  writings,  and  that  the  veil  of  con- 
cealment which  he  then  wore,  if  it  was  too  thin  to 
defraud  him  of  the  honour  universally  paid  to  him  as 
"  the  Great  Unknown,"  could  not  be  expected  to 
skreen  him  from  the  voice  of  censure.  The  reviewer 
himself  used  to  mention,  to  the  credit  of  Sir  Waiter, 
that  he  met  him  after  "  the  attack  "  with  as  much 
frankness  and  cordiality  as  before.  On  the  otlier 
hand,  there  is  as  little  ground  for  the  insinuation 
thrown  out  by  the  anonymous  writer  referred  to  in 
a  former  page,  that  Dr.  M'Crie  felt  as  if  he  had  been 
personally  aggrieved  by  Sir  Walter's  attacks  on  the 
Covenanters;  though  he  certainly  felt  indignant  at 
the  injustice  done  to  their  memory.* 

Southey  was  not  the  only  one  of  Scott's  friends  who  was  star- 
tled by  his  extravagant  notions  regarding  Claverhouse  and  the 
Covenanters.  In  these,  he  seems  to  have  shot  ahead  of  all  his 
correspondents,  Toryish  as  they  were.  If  his  sentiments  meet 
with  more  extensive  sympathy  now,  it  is  because  his  works  have 
created  a  taste  which  did  not  formerly  exist — or,  if  it  did,  was 
only  to  be  found  among  the  "Jacobite  relics"  of  the  nortli  of 
Scotland,  to  whom  the  ancient  feelings  of  hostility  to  the  Cove- 
nant descended  with  all  the  pertinacity  of  a  Highland  feud. 

*  "  I  may  just  mention,"  says  this  writer,  "  that  he  (Dr.  M'Crie) 
could  never  forget  the  attack  made  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  some 
of  his  novels,  on  his  friends  the  Covenanters.  This  he  seemed 
to  feel  almost  as  acutely  as  if  it  had  been  a  personal  insult,  and 
no  wonder,  for  he  had  identified  himself  completely  with  all  their 
'■sayings  and  doings."  Hence  he  never  would  adsnit  that  Scott 
was  one  of  our  great  novelists,  and  I  remember  him  maintaining 
stoutly  one  day  at  dinner,  (after,  I  may  remark,  he  had  given  us 
a  grace  quite  in  the  style  of  a  Covenanter,^  that  Fielding  was 
far  superior  to  him.  Nothing  we  could  retort  could  shake  him 
in  this  opinion,  and  he  continued  maintaining  his  point  with 


200  LIFE  or  DR.  m'crie. 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable,  that  while  thus  en- 
gaged in  vindicating  the  memory  of  the  persecuted 
Covenanters,  our  author  discovered  and  rescued  from 
destruction  a  work  written  by  one  of  the  most  eminent 
of  their  persecutors — a  manuscript  history  by  Sir 
George  Mackenzie.  About  May  1817,  a  large  mass  of 
papers  was  brouglit  to  the  shop  of  a  grocer  in  Edin- 
burgh, and  purchased  by  him  for  the  humblest  pur- 
poses of  his  trade.  From  these  his  curiosity  induced 
him  to  select  a  manuscript  volume,  which  appeared 
to  him  to  be  something  of  an  historical  nature,  and 
by  an  equal  piece  of  good  fortune  he  communicated 
the  volume  to  Dr.  M'Crie,  who  soon  discovered  that 
it  was  tlie  composition  of  Sir  George,  and  that  in 
truth  it  must  be  a  portion  of  that  history  of  his  own 
times  which  had  been  so  long  a  desideratum  in  Scot- 
tish literature.  Of  this  the  intrinsic  evidence  was 
obvious  and  complete;  and  the  manuscript,  though 
written  by  one  of  the  ordinary  transcribers  of  that 
age,  was  decisively  identified  by  numerous  corrections 
and  additions  in  the  well-known  hand  of  Sir  George 
Mackenzie  himself.  A  short  notice  of  the  discovery 
of  the  manuscript,  and  a  feiv  interesting  specimens  of 
its  contents,  were  communicated  by  our  author  at  the 
time  to  the  editor  of  one  of  the  literary  journals,*  to 
whom  he  says: — "I  literally  found  the  manuscript 
which  I  mean  to  describe  to  you, 

most  determined  firmness.  Indeed,  it  might  be  said  that  Sir 
Walter  and  he  were  prejudiced  on  opposite  sides  of  the  question, 
the  former  on  the  side  of  Episcopacy,  and  the  latter  on  the  part 
of  Presbytery.  Scott  was  powerful  only  in  ridicule  when  he  at- 
tacked the  Covenanters;  and  perhaps  the  loeakest  things  ever 
written  by  M'Crie,  were  his  critical  effusions  (published  in 
this  Magazine)  on  the  Tales  of  my  Landlord."  {Christian  In- 
structor for  October  1835,  p.  G73.)  Few  good  Presbyterians  will 
agree  in  the  censure  here  pronounced  on  the  review  in  the  In- 
structor. As  to  the  preference  Dr.  M'Crie  is  said  to  have  expressed 
for  Fielding  over  Scott,  I  do  not  believe  he  would  ever  have 
seriously  contested  the  point;  or  if  he  did,  it  was  only  as  to  the 
quality  of  the  wit  displayed  by  the  two  novelists.  He  held,  I  am 
aware,  that  Scott  "  had  a  turn  for  humour  which  indulged  itself 
in  the  ridiculous,  because  it  could  not  rise  to  delicate  or  dig- 
nified wit." 

*  Blackwood's  Edinburgh  Magazine,  No.  iii.,  June  1817. 


SIR  GEORGE  MACKENZIE'S  HISTORY.  201 


■in  vico  vendentem  thus  et  adores; 


and  unfortunately  it  had  suffered  to  a  considerable 
extent  before  I  rescued  it  from  the  hands  of  the  mer- 
chant, who  had  purchased  it  as  waste  paper.  It  is  a 
quarto  volume,  bound  in  vellum,  and  written  in  a 
fair  hand  about  the  beginning  of  the  ISth  century. 
Nearly  300  pages  of  it  remain.  I  cannot  say  that 
this  manuscript  contains  much  information  which 
can  properly  be  called  new.  It  does  however  state 
facts  which  I  have  not  found  elsewhere;  and  it  cer- 
tainly throws  light  upon  the  transactions  which  it 
relates.  A  history  of  that  period  by  a  person  of  such 
intelligence  and  opportunities  of  information  as  Sir 
George  Mackenzie,  must  deserve  to  be  preserved  and 
consulted."  The  original  volume  he  transferred  into 
the  hands  of  Thomas  Thomson,  Esq.,  under  whose 
superintendence  it  was  printed  in  1S21.  "It  must  be 
regretted,"  says  that  learned  antiquary,  in  his  pre- 
face to  the  work,  "that  the  other  literary  pursuits 
in  which  Dr.  M'Crie  has  been  so  usefully  engaged, 
should  have  prevented  him  from  undertaking  the 
publication  of  the  manuscript  he  had  so  fortunately 
rescued  from  destruction,  and  which  his  minute  and 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  histor})-  of  the  period  to 
which  it  relates  would  have  enabled  him  so  fully  to 
illustrate." 

Shortly  after  this,  our  author  was  rather  unplea- 
santly brought  before  the  public,  by  an  anonymous 
writer,  who  took  offence  at  his  supposed  connexion 
with  Blackwood's  Edinburgh  Magazine.*  The  Oc- 
tober number  of  this  periodical  contained  a  very  ex- 
ceptionable Jeua;-c?'espn7,  under  the  well-known  desig- 
nation of  the  "Chaldee  manuscript,"  in  which  most  of 
the  literary  characters  of  Edinburgh  were  introduced 


*  This  supposition  may  have  arisen  from  the  circumstance  of 
the  September  number  having  contained  a  paper  of  his,  being  an 
"  Account  of  a  manuscript  of  Bishop  Lesley's  History  of  Scot- 
land, in  the  possession  of  the  Earl  of  Levcn  and  Melville."  This 
paper  was  sent  while  the  Magazine  was  under  the  conduct  of 
ilia  amiable  and  lamented  friend,  Mr.  Thomas  Pringle. 


202  LIFE  OF  DR.  M^CRIE. 

in  an  enigmatical  style  bearing  too  close  a  resem- 
blance to  the  phraseology  of  Scripture.  Among  the 
rest,  Dr.  M'Crie  figured,  as  a  supporter  of  the  maga- 
zine, in  the  character  of  a  gritfin.*  Indignant  at 
what  appeared  so  unseemly  a  conjunction,  some  indi- 
vidual under  the  name  of  Calvinus,  published  "Two 
Letters  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  M'Crie  and  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Andrew  Thomson,  on  the  Parody  of  Scripture, 
lately  published  in  Blackwood's  Edinburgh  Maga- 
zine," in  which  he  warmly  remonstrates  with  both  of 
these  gentlemen  on  the  inconsistency  of  their  having 
any  thing  to  do  with  such  a  ])eriodical  or  with  its 
publisher.  This  was  followed  by  "Another  Letter," 
and  soon  after  b}?^  "Two  more  Letters"  to  the  same 
persons,  in  which  they  are  severely  lectured  on  the 
silence  with  which  they  had  treated  these  remon- 
strances. But  indeed  they  do  not  seem  to  have  con- 
sidered themselves  called  on  to  answer  the  summons 
of  an  anonymous  writer,  who,  by  publishing  his  letters, 
showed  that  his  principal  object  was  gained  by  the 
opportunity  which  they  afforded  him  of  expressing 
his  sentiments  regarding  the  obnoxious  periodical. 
The  only  allusion  to  the  subject  which  I  can  find  in 
Dr.  M'Crie's  correspondence,  is  the  following  in  a 
hasty  note  to  Dr.  Thomson: — "Well:  and  how  do 
you  relish  the  letter  of  your  good  friend  and  great 
admirer  Calvinus?  Glad  you  have  got  off  so  scratch- 
free?  Gratified  with  his  equivocal  and  conditional 
praise,  and  determined  to  merit  and  secure  it  by  never 
entering  again  the  virgin-door  of  Blackwood,  and  by 
immediately  withdrawing  from  him  your  Discourses, 
and  your  Instructor,  as  well  as  your  Essay  on  Educa- 
tion, with  all  the  embryo  and  de  fitturo  productions  of 
your  brain?  Pleased  with  the  statement  that  you 
maintain  the  inexpediency  of  foolish  talking  and  jest- 


*■  "  And  the  Griffin  came  with  a  roll  of  the  names  of  those 
whose  blood  had  been  shed,  between  his  teeth;  and  I  saw  him 
standing  over  the  body  of  one  tiiat  had  been  buried  long  in  the 
grave,  defending  it  from  all  men;  and  behold,  there  were  none 
which  durst  come  near  him." 


DEATH  or  THE  PRINCESS  CHARLOTTE.  203 

ing?  And  absolutely  delighted  at  being  assured  that 
'religion,  like  a  well-made  coat,  sits  so  easy  upon 
you?' — O/nnino.^' 

A  more  serious  affair  engaged  his  attention  before 
this  year  had  closed.  Many  will  remember  the  deep 
sensation  produced  on  the  public  mind  by  the  death 
of  the  Princess  Charlotte.  Calculating  on  this,  the 
Court  papers  announced  that  on  the  day  of  the  fune- 
ral, Wednesday,  November  19,  1817,  the  churches 
through  the  whole  country  were  to  be  opened  for 
the  performance  of  divine  service;  and  the  magis- 
trates of  Edinburgh,  with  the  concurrence  of  some  of 
the  clergy,  issued  a  proclamation  to  this  effect  on  the 
preceding  Monday.  With  very  few  exceptions,  this 
order  was  obeyed  by  all  the  Established  and  Dissent- 
ing Churches  in  the  city.  St.  George's,  however,  was 
shut,  Dr.  Thomson  having  positively  refused  to  per- 
form divine  service  on  the  funeral  day.  A  keen 
discussion  ensued,  in  the  course  of  whicli  Dr.  Thom- 
son's character  was  very  roughly  handled,  and  his 
motives  grossly  misrepresented.  "Paragraphs  ap- 
peared in  the  newspapers  denouncing  the  'outrage' 
which  had  been  committed,  and  loudly  demanding 
satisfaction.  Public  vengeance  was  invoked  on  the 
head  of  the  offending  individual,  as  if  Heaven  had 
pointed  him  out  as  the  victim  to  appease  the  indig- 
nation which  had  gone  forth  against  the  land."  After 
several  pamphlets  had  appeared  on  both  sides,  our 
author  came  forward  in  defence  of  his  friend,  in  a 
piece  entitled  "Free  Thoughts  on  the  late  religious 
celebration  of  the  funeral  of  her  Royal  Highness,  the 
Princess  Charlotte  of  Wales;  and  on  the  discussion 
to  which  it  has  given  rise  in  Edinburgh.  By  Scoto 
Britannus."  In  this  publication,  he  embraces  the 
opportunity  of  showing  that  the  burial-service  of  the 
Church  of  England, — of  which  the  Edinburgh  so- 
lemnity is  described  as  having  been  "a  clumsy  imita- 
tion,"— was  repugnant  both  to  the  letter  and  spirit 
of  our  ecclesiastical  constitution.     He  reprobates  the 


204  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

manner  in  which  it  had  been  got  up,  and  the  attempt 
made  to  prescribe  to  the  Scottish  Church  in  matters 
of  divine  worship;  and  points  out  the  danger  of 
adopting,  even  partially,  such  Episcopalian  usages, 
which,  introduced  irregularly  and  during  a  period  of 
public  excitement,  might  become  a  precedent  for 
justifying  farther  innovations.  These  reasonings 
were  considered  so  conclusive  in  vindication  of  Dr. 
Thomson,  that  the  voice  of  censure  was  hushed,  and 
nothing  more  was  heard  on  the  subject. 

I  must  not  avoid  mentioning,  that  in  addition  to 
his  other  labours,  during  the  years  1817  and  1818,  he 
consented,  though  with  great  reluctance,  to  perform 
the  duties  of  theological  professor  to  the  small  body 
with  which  he  was  connected.  He  would,  on  no  ac- 
count, however,  agree  to  continue  longer  in  that  office, 
and  could  not  be  prevailed  on  to  resume  its  labours 
till  1834,  when  he  agreed  to  assist  the  late  Professor 
Paxton.  In  conducting  the  studies  of  the  theological 
class,  he  devoted  himself  chiefly  to  examination, — a 
method  of  tuition  from  which  the  students  found  the 
highest  benefit.  His  theological  lectures  were  very 
few,  and  chiefly  related  to  biblical  criticism. 

In  November  1819,  appeared  the  Life  of  Andrew 
Melville,  which,  says  the  author,  in  the  preface,  "may 
be  viewed  as  a  continuation  of  the  account  of  eccle- 
siastical transactions  in  Scotland,  which  I  some  years 
ago  laid  before  the  public  in  the  Life  of  John  Knox." 
And  to  this  I  may  add  the  closing  sentence  of  the 
work: — "I  conclude  with  a  single  remark,  contain- 
ing the  chief  reason  which  induced  me  to  undertake 
this  work,  and  to  devote  so  much  time  and  labour  to 
its  execution.  If  the  love  of  pure  religion,  rational 
liberty,  and  polite  letters,  forms  the  basis  of  national 
virtue  and  happiness,  I  know  no  individual,  after  her 
Reformer,  from  whom  Scotland  has  received  greater 
benefits,  and  to  whom  she  owes  a  deeper  debt  of 
gratitude  and  respect,  than  Andrew  Melville."  In 
this  high  estimate  of  Melville's  character  and  worth, 
few  perhaps  besides  Presbyterians  can  be  expected. 


THE  LIFE   OF  MELVILLE.  205 

fully  to  coincide.*  In  fact,  by  selecting  such  a  sub- 
ject, he  forfeited  the  sympathy  of  a  very  numerous 
class  of  readers  who  were  delighted  with  his  former 
w^ork;  and  had  he  followed  out  his  original  plan  of  a 
descending  series  of  biographies,  such  is  still  the  state 
of  parties  among  us  that,  in  proportion  as  he  de- 
scended the  scale  of  history,  I  have  no  doubt  the 
number  of  his  admirers  would  have  gradually  lessened 
and  dropt  off,  till,  in  all  probability,  there  would  have 
remained  as  few  to  congratulate  him  on  his  final  effort, 
as  there  were  to  encourage  him  in  his  first  attempt. 

Andrew  Melville  was  the  champion  of  Presbytery; 
and  a  considerable  part  of  tbe  work  is  devoted,  as 
might  be  expected  in  such  hands,  to  the  defence  and 
elucidation  of  the  principles  of  Presbyterians.  To 
the  subject  of  church  government.  Dr.  M'Crie,  as  he 
himself  once  said,  "had  turned  his  attention  during 
the  greater  part  of  his  life."  His  reading  on  the  sub- 
ject was  very  extensive,  and  the  result  of  his  re- 
searches was  a  full  persuasion  of  the  divine  right, 
or  Scriptural  appointment  of  that  form  of  policy 
which  has  been  generally  adopted  by  the  Churches 
of  the  Reformation.  Sensible  of  the  difficulties  of 
the  subject,  he  avoided  all  dogmatizing,  and  spoke  of 
it  with  extreme  caution.  So  delicate  indeed  were 
his  feelings  in  this  matter,  that  instead  of  directly  ex- 
pressing his  own  sentiments  respecting  Episcopacy, 
he  has  preferred  allowing  Melville  to  speak  for  him, 
by  giving  the  substance  of  his  speech  before  the  As- 

*  "The  inferior  clergy,"  says  a  late  writer,  "  usurped  tlie  au- 
thority wliich  was  inconsistent  witli  the  proper  object  of  their 
bishops,  and  even  dared  to  depose  bishops,  and  to  censure  the 
Episcopal  office,  under  the  influence  of  <7,  misguided  man,  named 
Me/i-illc." — {Palmers  Treatise  on  the  Church  of  Christ,  vol.  i.,  p. 
574  )  "  It  is  chiefly  for  this  salutary  exertion  of  his  influence  (ob- 
serves Dr.  Irving)  that  the  memory  of  "  a  misguided  man,  named 
Melville,"  continues  to  be  venerated  by  a  large  proportion  of  his 
countrymen,  who  regard  the  abolition  of  prelacy  as  the  second 
great  reformation  of  the  national  church.  The  lucubrations  of 
tiie  Oxford  apostolicals  have  no  tendency  to  recommend  diocesan 
Episcopacy,  under  any  form  or  modiflcation,  to  any  Tresbyterian 
of  common  sense.'' — Lives  of  Scottish  If'ritcrs,  vol.  i.,  p.  Iti4. 
IS 


206  LIFK  OF  DR.   M'CKIE. 

sembly  1575.  "'He  was  satisfied,'  he  said,  'that  pre- 
lacy had  no  foundation  in  the  Scriptures,  and  that, 
viewed  as  a  human  expedient,  its  tendency  was  ex- 
tremely doubtful,  if  not  necessarily  hurtful  to  the 
interests  of  religion.  The  words  bishop  and  presby- 
ter are  interchangeably  used  in  the  jNew  Testament, 
and  the  most  popular  arguments  for  the  divine  origin 
of  Episcopacy  are  founded  on  ignorance  of  the  original 
language  of  Scripture.  It  was  the  opinion  of  Jerom 
and  other  Christian  fiithers,  that  all  ministers  of  the 
Gospel  were  at  first  equal;  and  that  the  superiority 
of  bishops  originated  in  custom,  and  not  in  divine  ap- 
pointment. A  certain  degree  of  pre-eminence  was 
at  an  early  period,  given  to  one  of  the  college  of  Pres- 
byters over  the  rest,  with  the  view  or  under  the 
pretext  of  preserving  unity;  but  this  device  had  of- 
tener  bred  dissension,  while  it  fostered  a  spirit  of 
ambition  and  avarice  among  the  clergy.  From  ec- 
clesiastical history  it  is  evident,  that,  for  a  considerable 
time  after  this  change  took  place,  bishops  were  paro- 
chial and  not  diocesan.  The  same  principles  which 
justify,  and  the  same  measures  which  led  to  the  ex- 
tension of  the  bishop's  power  over  all  the  pastors  of 
a  diocess,  will  justify  and  lead  to  the  establishment 
of  an  archbishop,  metropolitan,  or  patriarch  over  a 
province  or  kingdom,  and  of  a  universal  bishop,  or 
pope,  over  the  whole  Christian  world.  He  had  wit- 
nessed the  good  effects  of  Presbj-terian  parity  at  Ge- 
neva and  in  France.  The  maintenanceof  thehierarchy 
in  England,  he  could  not  but  consider  as  one  cause  of 
the  rarity  of  preaching,  the  poverty  of  the  lower  or- 
ders of  the  clerg)'^,  pluralities,  want  of  discipline,  and 
other  abuses  which  had  produced  dissensions  and 
heart-burnings  in  that  flourishing  kingdom.  And 
he  was  convinced  that  the  best  and  only  effectual  way 
of  redressing  the  grievances  which  at  present  afflicted 
the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  of  preventing  their 
return,  was  to  strike  at  the  root  of  the  evil,  by  abolish- 
ing prelacy,  and  restoring  that  parity  of  rank  and  au- 


THE  LIFE  OF  MELVILLE.  207 

thority  which  existed  at  the  beginning  among  all  the 
pastors  of  the  Church.'  "* 

I  have  quoted  this  paragraph  at  length,  because  it 
contains,  within  small  compass,  not  only  the  heads  of 
the  argument  against  Episcopacy  (in  which  presbyte- 
rians  are  joined  by  all  other  parties)  but  the  biogra- 
pher's own  judgment  on  this  much  litigated  question. 
As  to  the  dogma  of  "the  uninterrupted  succession  of 
the  hierarchy,"  he  could  never  speak  of  it  without  a 
smilejf  regarding  it  as  one  of  those  "childish  things" 
which  are  put  away  by  the  wisest,  and  only  indulged 
in  by  the  weakest  advocates  of  the  system.  If,  in- 
deed, he  felt  any  difficulties  connected  with  the  sub- 
ject of  church  government,  they  referred  to  the  pro- 
per adjustment  of  the  authority  of  the  rulers  of  the 
Church  and  the  due  liberty  of  the  Christian  people — 
a  point  in  the  determination  of  which,  as  we  shall  see, 
he  considered  that  much  delicacy  and  caution  were 
required. 

The  liife  of  Melville  is  so  strictly  biographical,  that 
it  may  be  likened  to  a  gallery  of  portraits,  varying 
in  size  according  to  the  importance  assigned  to  the 
characters  introduced.  Of  the  elder  Melville,  we  have 
a  full-length  figure,  presented  in  all  the  attitudes  of 
his  hardy  and  high-principled  patriotism.  In  portray- 
ing these,  the  biographer  is  evidently  at  home — whe- 
ther we  see  the  energetic  Reformer,  unclasping  the 
Hebrew  Bible  which  was  suspended  at  his  girdle,  and 
throwing  it  on  the  council  table,  with  a  challenge 
to  his  judges  to  show  that  he  had  exceeded  his  in- 
structions— or  the  dauntless  Principal,  barring  the 
door  on  Mr.  John  Caldcleugh,  who  had  threatened 
him  with  personal  violence,  and  exclaiming,  "Ho!  is 
this  you  that  will  hough  men!" — or  the  bold  patriot, 
advancing  to  the  table,  in  answer  to  Arran's  chal- 
lenge, "Who  dare  subscribe  these  treasonable  ar- 
ticles?" with  "We  dare!" — or  the  stern  Presby- 
terian, taking  King  James  by  the  sleeve  and  calling 

**  Life  of  Melville,  vol.  i.,  p.  3,  (2d  Ed.) 
\  Ibid.  vol.  i.,  p.  104.     Note  S. 


208  LIFE   OF  DR.  M^CRIE. 

him  "God's  silly  vassal,"  and  shaking  the  "Romish 
rags"  of  Archbishop  Bancroft.*  Of  James  Melville 
we  are  presented  with  a  half-length  portrait,  the  soft- 
ness and  simplicity  of  his  features  contrasting  very 
strikingly  with  the  more  strongly  marked  but  not 
less  amiable  character  of  the  uncle.  While  of  the 
subordinate  personages  in  the  history,  we  have  a  set 
of  miniatures,  among  which  that  of  the  "English  So- 
lomon" must  be  allowed  to  be  a  striking  likeness, 
now  that  the  contemptible  character  of  James  is  be- 
ginning to  be  better  understood. 

We  are  aware  that  some  serious  readers  have  been 
disappointed  on  finding  that  the  piety  of  Melville 
does  not  occupy  more  space,  and  have  felt  tliat  if  this 
part  of  his  character  had  got  more  prominence,  the 
book  would  have  been  more  useful.  We  are  not 
quite  sure  how  far  this  feeling  is  correct.  To  other 
ininds,  equally  devout,  such  an  objection  would  not 
occur.  Piety  manifests  itself  in  a  variety  of  ways: 
in  Melville  we  see  a  man  entirely  devoted  to  the  de- 
fence and  advancement  of  true  religion,  as  well  as  to 
the  diffusion  of  learning  and  liberty  over  his  country; 
and  in  these  undoubted  results  of  piety  of  hearl,  vve 
see  religion  expressing  itself  in  as  powerful  and  salu- 
tary forms  as  if,  without  such  evidence,  we  liad  learnt 
his  character  from  the  language  of  a  devout  diary. 
"As  to  the  tendency  of  the  work  to  convey  instruc- 
tion," says  one  of  its  reviewers,  "  we  have  no  hesita- 
tion in  saying,  that  if  the  time  should  ever  come  when 
the  great  mass  of  Christian  teachers  should  arrive  at 
that  power  of  religious  principle,  that  zeal  and  energy 
and  unwearied  activity  in  the  best  of  causes,  and  any 
approach  to  that  learning  which  Melville  possessed, 
we  should  see  a  new  era  in  the  Churcb  of  Christ,  and 
a  brighter  one  than  has  ever  been  witnessed  in  this 
country. "t 

The  Life  of  Melville,  as  was  to  be  expected,  has 

*  Life  of  Melville,  vol.  i.,  181,  169,  183,  391;  vol.  ii.,  p.  159. 
(2d  Ed.) 

t  Ctiristian  Repository  for  December  1820,  p.  757. 


REVIEWS  OF  THE  LIFE   OF  MELVILLE.  209 

not  proved  such  a  general  favourite  with  the  public 
as  that  of  Knox; — we  miss  the  stirring  incidents,  the 
alto  relievo  figures  that  strike  and  charm  in  the  latter 
work;  many  of  its  details  can  only  interest  the  man 
of  learning;  and  above  all,  the  struggles  in  which 
Melville  was  involved  are  apt  to  be  regarded  as  less 
noble,  because  less  vital,  than  those  of  the  first  Re- 
former. The  character  of  Knox  is  elevated  by  the 
scenes  in  which  he  moved — that  of  Melville  is  sus- 
tained solel}^  by  its  own  merits;  and  our  admiration 
of  the  hero  is  lessened  by  the  meanness  of  his  oppo- 
nents. Had  James  been  a  greater  prince,  Melville 
might  have  appeared  a  greater  man.  The  author 
liimself  had  no  high  hopes  of  its  popularity.  "I  have 
no  expectation,"  he  says  to  one  of  his  friends  shortly 
after  its  publication,  "  but  that  the  tone  which  is  taken 
in  speaking  of  Presbytery,  &c.,  will  give  very  general 
and  great  offence  in  the  present  moderate  and  luke- 
warm age,  and  the  mixture  of  literary  with  church 
history  will  not  be  to  the  taste  of  those  who  would 
be  disposed  in  other  respects  to  be  pleased."  And 
yet  I  have  reason  to  think  that,  in  his  own  judgment, 
lie  silently  preferred  the  Life  of  Melville  to  that  of 
Knox.  In  the  character  of  Melville  he  found  that 
union  of  literature  and  religion,  the  importance  of 
which,  to  render  the  one  safe  and  the  other  suc- 
cessful, was  a  favourite  topic  with  him;  and  the  dis- 
solution of  which,  or  what  he  called  "the  seculariza- 
tion of  literature,"  he  always  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  ominous  symptoms  of  our  times.*  Besides  the 
work  had  cost  him  immense  labour — he  used  to  say 
"a  hundred  times  more  labour  than  Knox,  though 
what  had  taken  him  days  and  nights  to  discover, 
would  not  be  apparent  to  the  reader;"f  and  the  field 

*  Sermons  by  Dr.  M'Crie,  p.  333. 

t  To  the  truth  of  this,  the  present  writer,  having  been  employed 
n.s  a  subordinate  caterer  for  materials  in  drawing  up  the  history 
of  Melville,  can  add  his  humble  testimony.  Every  source  vvhicli 
promised  to  throw  light  on  the  subject  was  explored — not  a  fact 
or  name  was  introduced  without  tracing  it  through  every  avenue 
of  information;  in  short,  no  toil  nor  expense  was  spared  to 
,    IS* 


210  LIFE  OF  DR.  ai'CRIE, 

being  In  a  great  measure  new  and  untrodden, the  result 
of  his  painful  researches,  when  imbodied  in  a  regular 
form,  might  appear  endowed  with  attractions  some- 
what similar  to  those  which  endear  to  the  poet  the 
creations  of  his  own  fancy. 

The  Life  of  Melville  was  not  noticed  in  either  of 
the  great  rival  Reviews — the  Edinburgh  or  the  Quar- 
terly. The  reason,  which  was  currently  reported  at 
the  time  to  have  been  assigned  for  this  omission  by 
the  accomplished  editor  of  the  Edinburgh  Review, 
was  that  it  would  require  some  years'  reading  to  quali- 
fy himself  for  reviewing  such  a  work.  In  various 
other  periodicals,  however,  religious  and  literary,  the 
work  was  reviewed,  more  or  less  favourably  accord- 
ing to  the  political  or  ecclesiastical  leanings  of  the 
conductors.  From  the  high-church  Episcopalians  of 
the  British  Critic,  the  memory  of  Andrew  Melville 
could  expect  little  better  treatment  than  he  received 
in  person  from  the  Barlows  and  Bancrofts  of  the  17th 
century.  No  attempt  is  made  to  controvert  the  his- 
torical statements  in  the  Life,  but  it  is  asserted  that 
they  rest  chiefly  on  the  partial  authority  of  James 
Melville's  diary,  which  not  being  then  published, 
"  may,  of  course,"  observes  this  candid  critic,  "be 
garbled  and  misquoted."  The  insinuation  was  su- 
perfluous, for  he  declares  his  conviction  that,  after  all 
that  the  author  has  done  to  recommend  his  hero,  "no 
one,  who  thought  ill  of  '  Mr.  Andrew  '  before,  will 
think  better  of  him  now."  In  practical  illustration 
of  this  remark,  the  British  Critic  proceeds,  in  the 
coolest  manner,  to  repeat  the  slanders  against  Mel- 
ville which  his  biographer  had  shown  to  be  totally 
without  foundation.  Nor  does  the  biographer  him- 
self escape  without  his  due  share  of  vituperation. 
"In  his  own  way,"  says  the  reviewer,  ''Dr.  M'Crie 

authenticate  the  minutest  statements.  He  may  be  said  to  have 
literally  complied  with  the  poet's  advice,  by  taking  nine  years  to 
complete  the  work;  and  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  his  assiduity 
in  its  execution,  when  I  mention,  what  he  has  been  heard  to 
declare,  that,  while  thus  employed,  he  had  not  had  a  newspaper 
i-a  his  hand  for  twelve  months. 


THE  BRITISH  CRITIC.  211 

is  another  Old  Mortality.*  With  pen  and  ink,  in- 
stead of  chisel  and  mallet,  he  continues  to  repair  the 
sepulchres  of  the  prophets,  whom  his  fathers  slew; 
and  in  a  mood  nearly  as  gloomy  and  morose  as  that 
in  which  the  ancient  rustic  traced  the  decayed  let- 
ters on  the  moss-grown  slab,  does  this  sedulous  author 
revive  all  the  fairer  recollections  connected  with  the 
history  of  the  bold  rebellious  fanatics  who  figured  most 
prominently  in  the  early  days  of  the  Scottish  Refor- 
mation." "  The  author  appears  throughout  as  a  bit- 
ter and  determined  partisan."  He  is  a  writer  "who 
revives  in  his  work  all  the  bigotry  of  the  most  igno- 
rant times,  and  who  labours  to  represent  in  his  own 
person  the  full  amount  of  that  enmity  and  fanatical 
moroseness  towards  Episcopal  government,  which 
could  only  be  excused  in  a  puritanical  leader  of  the 
16th  century."  <' He  personates  in  his  style,  the 
exact  manner  and  gait  of  the  fiery  zealots  whom  he 
so  vehemently  admires;  and  admires,  be  it  observed, 
not  merely  for  their  virtues,  but  for  the  most  offen- 
sive parts  of  their  character.  The  consequence  of 
this  is,  that  an  almost  dramatic  effect  is  often  given 
1o  that  part  of  his  subject  in  which  the  malignity, 
coarseness,  fanaticism,  and  insolence  of  the  covenant- 
ing faction,  are  brought  upon  the  stage;  and  were  our 
author  equally  able  to  enter  into  the  character  of  their 
opponents,  he  would  be  better  qualified  to  write  the 
history  of  the  age  which  he  has  selected,  than  almost 
any  writer  we  are  acquainted  with.  But  we  are  sorry  to 
say,  that  Dr.  M'Crie's  sympathy  is  about  as  narrow  as 
his  bigotry;  and  he  seems  as  little  able  to  conceive  what 
beauty  is  to  be  found  in  any  merely  gentlemanly  feel- 

*  Tiie  fancy  as  well  as  the  judgment  of  reviewers  is  very 
much  under  the  guidance  of  their  prejudices.  Another  periodical 
finds  in  our  author  a  resemblance  to  no  less  a  personage  than 
Wellington  !  "  There  is  a  heroism  as  high  in  its  objects,  as  daring' 
in  its  enterprise,  and  assuredly  less  mischievous  in  its  aberrations, 
in  thus  fearlessly  facing,  in  combating  and  conquering  whole 
ranks  of  huge  and  formidable  tomes,  as  in  fighting  among  the 
I'yrennees,  or  at  Waterloo,  with  whole  regiments  of  French 
rascals.  Among  laborious  authors,  Dr.  M'Crie  is  a  Wellington!" 
—  Christian  Kepositorij,  Dec.  1820,  p.  75G. 


210  LIFE  OF  DR.   M^CRIE. 

ing  or  human  acquirement,  as  wc  are  to  conceive 
wherein  the  merit  of  rebellion  and  sacrilege  consists. 
In  conclusion,  we  have  onl}^  to  regret,  that  Dr.  M'Crie 
did  not  live  two  hundred  years  ago;  he  would  then, 
perhaps,  have  afforded  the  same  sort  of  materials  for 
the  historian  as  he  must  now  be  contented  merely  to 
feast  upon  in  imagination."* 

I  have  quoted  at  greater  length  from  this  attack 
than  it  deserves,  from  its  being  a  curiosity  in  its 
way;  for  it  is  the  only  instance,  so  far  as  I  know, 
during  the  whole  course  of  his  literary  career,  in 
which  Dr.  M'Crie's  personal  character  was  openly 
assailed. f     Some  readers  may  feel  at  a  loss  to  ac- 

*  The  British  Critic  for  February  1820. 

t  We  mustexccptanother  attack,  still  more  disingenuous,  made 
in  the  same  periodical,  after  the  publication  of  the  Review  of  the 
Tales  of  my  Landlord,  and  to  which  Dr.  Thomson  penned  tlie 
following  indignant  reply  in  the  Instructor: — "  Of  the  Critic's 
personality  and  unfairness  to  Dr.  M'Crie,  the  following  may  be 
given  as  a  melancholy  proof:  '  We  have  a  latent  suspicion  of 
the  cause  of  the  Doctor's  enmity  against  the  British  Critic;  he 
owes  us  a  grudge  for  our  review  of  his  Life  of  John  Knox.  The 
story  has  reached  London,  that  he  suppressed  some  part  of  the 
■evidence  in  the  City  Records  of  Edinburgh,  submitted  to  his 
inspection,  by  which  the  moral  character  of  Knox  is  affected. 
The  man  is  certainly  able;  but  he  as  certainly  wants  temper,' 
■&C.,  &,c.  As  to  the  review  of  the  Life  of  Knox,  we  believe,"  says 
Dr.  Thomson,  "  the  author  never  expected  any  thing  from  the 
British  Critic  but  ignorant  assertion  and  contemptible  abuse;  and 
surely  he  has  not  been  disappointed.  '  The  story  that  has  reached 
London '  is  quite  worthy  of  the  pen  tliat  has  attempted  to  give  it 
circulation,  or  rather,  we  are  inclined  to  suspect,  that  has  actually 
invented  it  for  the  occasion.  But  without  copying  his  Billings- 
gate phraseology,  we  must  be  allowed  to  say  that  it  is  not  con- 
sistent with  the  possession  of  common  honesty  to  bring  forward 
such  a  groundless  and  wicked  report,  (if  it  reallj^je  a  report,)  in 
order  to  discredit  Dr.  M'Crie  as  an  historian.  It  is  very  much 
like  the  way  in  which  Claverhouse  would  have  settled  the  con- 
,  troversy.  Any  sort  of  evidence,  or  no  evidence  at  all,  will  do  to 
-condemn  a  Scottish  Presbyterian.  The  Critic  allows  him  ability; 
but  how  ungracious  is  the  manner  of  this  act  of  condescension 
on  the  part  of  his  high  mightiness!  *  The  man  is  certainly  able.' 
The  old  story,  we  suppose,  has  been  dwelling  on  the  Critic's 
jnind.  Charles  IL,  that  wise  and  immaculate  head  of  the  Epis- 
copalian Church,  was  of  opinion  that  Presbyterianism  is  not  a 
religion  for  a  gentleman.  Indeed,  it  is  not  a  religion  for  such 
gentlemen  as  cither  Charles  H.  or  the  British  Critic.  But  can- 
not the  criti-c  l>c  consistent  with  himself  even  for  one  minute? 


PERIODICAL  CRITICISMS  ON  MELVILLE.         213 

count  for  this  torrent  of  invective,  the  rude  violence 
of  wiiich  appears  as  Httle  justified  by  the  work  under 
review,  as  it  is  at  variance  with  that  liberality  and 
"  gentlemanly  feeling"  of  which  the  Critic  would 
claim  a  more  than  ordinary  share  to  himself  and  his 
])arty.  Few  can  have  perused  the  Life  of  Melville 
Avithout  being  struck  with  the  temperate  tone  in 
which  the  author  asserts  the  principles  of  Presbyte- 
rianism — principles  to  which  every  son  of  the  Scot- 
tish Church  stands  solemnly  pledged.  It  is  rather 
too  much  to  expect  that  a  Presb3'terian  should  enter- 
tain that  respect  for  the  Episcopal  order,  which  con- 
stitutes the  very  line  of  distinction  between  the  two 
rival  forms  of  policy.  But  if  Dr.  M'Crie  expresses 
himself  strongly  against  Episcopacy,  it  is  only  when 
it  puts  forth  claims  which  would  go  to  unchurch 
every  other  denomination  of  Christians.  If  he  vin- 
dicates resistance  to  regal  power,  it  is  only  in  those 
cases  where  submission  would  have  been  servility, 
and  where  the  monarch, by  stepping  beyond  the  limits 
of  his  office  as  fixed  by  law,  forfeited  the  respect 
which  was  due  to  his  official  character.  And  if,  in 
defending  the  freedoms  used  by  Melville  and  his  as- 
sociates, he  speaks  more  energetically  than  suits  the 
taste  of  our  modern  admirers  of  despotism,  it  was 
from  no  sympathy  with  the  asperity  of  temper  they 
occasionally  displayed,  which  he  does  not  commend, 
but  from  indignation  at  the  spirit  evinced  by  their 
revilers,  who,  making  no  allowance  for  the  provoca- 
tions they  received,  would  involve,  under  the  same 
sweeping  censure,  the  rudeness  of  Lhe  men,  and  the 
patriotism  by  which  the}^  were  animated.     We  are 

Weak  intellects  are  seldom  consistent,  and  so  it  fares  with  him. 
Of  this  '  man,'  who  is  certainly  able,  he  says  in  another  place, 
'  We  take  our  leave  of  the  Christian  Instructor,  (that  is,  Dr. 
M'Crie,)  with  much  less  respect,'  (just  as  if  any  body  cared  for 
his  respect!)  '  for  his  temper  than  for  his  talents;  not  much  indeed 
for  either;'  and  then,  in  the  next  sentence,  he  recurs  to  liis 
former  sentiments,  and  adds,  '  The  Life  of  Knox  displays  ability 
and  research.'  This  talker  about  talent  and  temper  does  not 
seem  to  know  his  own  mind." — Christian  Instructor,  July  1817, 
p.  49. 


214  LIFE  or  DR.  M^CRIE. 

left  to  conclude,  therefore,  that  this  bilious  eflTusion 
of  the  Brilish  Critic  owed  its  origin  to  a  distressing 
consciousness,  that  in  the  Life  of  Melville  the  au- 
thor had  successfully  dissipated  that  mass  of  slan- 
derous misrepresentation,  by  the  aid  of  which  alone 
the  abettors  of  Scottish  prelacy  have  been  enabled 
to  throw  a  veil  over  the  intrinsic  littleness  of  its 
character,  the  glaring  atrocities  of  its  career  in  our 
land. 

The  Edinburgh  Literary  Magazine  for  February 
1820,  in  a  lengthy  review  of  Melville,  attempts  a 
middle  course.  "  Willing  to  wound,  and  yet  afraid 
to  strike,"  the  reviewer  keeps  up  a  running  fire  of 
admissions  and  retractions — "buts"  and  "yets,"  and 
"  neverthelesses  "  and  "  notwithstandings  " — till  it 
is  hard  to  say  what  he  is  aiming  at,  "We  detest 
despotism — but  the  right  of  resistance  is  still  worse," 
"  It  is  very  far  from  being  our  intention  to  combat 
the  Presbyterian  constitution, — though  we  feel  some 
regret  at  the  harshness  with  which  the  biographer 
speaks  of  Episcopacy."  "Melville  was  a  man  of 
great  ability,  but,"  &!.c.  "All  this  is  very  true,  and 
yet,^'  &c.  "This  is  all  very  well,  but  we  must  add," 
&c.  In  short,  the  editorial  We  is  so  candid  and 
impartial,  that  he  will  not  positively  allege  that 

"Black  is  so  black,  nor  white  so  very  white." 

A  more  decided  and  favourable  tone  was  assumed 
by  the  Edinburgh  Monthly  Review  for  the  same 
month.  Without  entering  into  the  controversy  be- 
tween Presbytery  and  Prelacy,"  we  cannot  refrain," 
they  say,  "  from  expressing  our  wonder  at  the  exer- 
tions of  the  author,  and  our  gratitude  for  the  fund 
of  instruction  and  entertainment  which  he  has  afford- 
ed us."  "It  is  impossible  not  to  regret  that  so  fine 
a  mind  as  that  of  Melville  should  have  been  fretted 
and  distracted  by  ecclesiastical  disputes  and  civil 
dissensions."  "The  freedom  and  fidelity  with  which 
he  reproved  vice,  exposed  him  to  the  resentment  of 
several  leading  individuals,  who  would  have  pre- 


INDEPENDENCE  OF  THE  CHURCH.  215 

ferred  a  clergyman  of  the  meanest  endowments  and 
most  indolent  nature  to  a  conscientious  and  zealous 
teacher,  who  thought  it  his  duty  not  only  to  instruct 
and  exhort,  hut  to  rebuke  with  all  authority."  "  In 
short,  we  know  few  works  deserving  of  higher  ap- 
plause than  the  Life  of  Andrew  Melville." 

With  equal  favour  the,  work  was  reviewed  in  the 
Edinburgh  Magazine, — the  Eclectic  Review,  Dec.  1 82 1 , 
— the  Investi gator, 3i  London  periodical, — Blackwood's 
.Magazine,  Sept.  1S2  1,  (with  some  qualifications,) — 
in  four  numbers  of  the  Christian  Repository,  1S20, — 
and  in  two  of  the  Christian  Inslnlctor,  1S24.  The 
opinions  of  the  critics  were  divided  on  the  question, 
whether  the  Life  of  Knox  or  that  of  Melville  was 
the  more  interesting.  By  many  of  them,  the  prefe- 
rence was  given  to  Melville.  The  author  was  al- 
lowed on  all  hands  to  have  supported  the  high  name 
which  he  had  acquired  as  the  historian  of  Knox; 
and  the  two  memoirs  were  flatteringly  styled  by 
some,  "  The  Iliad  and  Odyssey  of  the  Scottish 
Church."* 

It  is  remarkable  that  while  all  these  periodicals 
applaud  the  Life  of  Melville  as  a  literary  work,  and 
some  of  them,  particularly  the  last  mentioned,  coin- 
cide with  the  general  sentiments  of  the  author,  none 
of  them  have  chanced,  or  chosen,  to  express  a  decided 
opinion  in  favour  of  the  bold  appearances  made  by 
Melville  and  his  friends  for  the  independence  of 
the  Church,  in  regard  to  ministerial  liberty,  and  the 
right  which  they  claimed  to  have  their  doctrine,  when 
ciiarged  with  treason,  tried,  m  the  first  instance,  not 
before  the  civil  but  ecclesiastical  tribunals — a  point 
to  which  the  author  appears,  from  the  pains  he  has 
taken  to  defend  it,  to  have  attached  no  ordinary  de- 
gree of  importance.  Even  the  conductors  of  the 
Christian  Repository,  a  Secession  publication,  while 
they  censure  our  Reformers  for  accepting  a  civil  es- 
tablishment, or  '^  mounting  the  beast,"  as  they  term 

*  Christian  InsirucLor,  vol.  xxiii.,  [>.  773. 


216  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

it,  and  thereby  forfeiting  their  independence,  at  the 
same  time  condemn  Melville  for  having  adopted  the 
principle  to  which  we  refer,  and  administer  a  rebuke 
to  his  biographer  for  having  "  improperly  and  unsuc- 
cessfully, although  very  ingeniously  attempted  to 
vindicate  it."  Must  we  conclude  then  that  ministers 
of  every  denomination,  from  those  of  the  British 
Critic  to  those  represented  by  the  Repository,  agree 
in  holding  that  the  civil  magistrate  is  the  primary  and 
proper  judge  of  their  preaching,  whenever  it  m.ay 
happen  to  be  thought  treasonable;  and  that,  in  no 
case,  even  in  a  Christian  country,  where  the  Church 
is  legally  recognised  as  possessing  a  separate  juris- 
diction, may  she  claim  the  right  of  being  the  first  to 
examine  into  charges  affecting  the  conduct  of  her 
functionaries  in  the  execution  of  their  ministry?  Are 
no  gi'eater  immunities  due  to  those  who  occupy  the 
sacred  office  of"  ambassadors  for  Christ,"  who  speak 
in  Heaven's  name,  and  are  bound,  under  the  most 
solemn  responsibilities,  to  declare  the  whole  counsel 
of  God — than  to  the  demagogue  who  panders  to  the 
lowest  passions  of  a  mob  assembled  round  the  hust- 
ings? "  Is  not  this  to  chain  them  up  like  the 
animal  employed  to  keep  sentry  wlien  the  family  are 
asleep,  which  alarms  passengers  by  its  noise,  licks 
the  hand  that  feeds  it,  and  is  let  loose  at  its  master's 
pleasure?  Who  would  undertake  such  a  degrading 
office,  but  hirelings,  parasites,  or  dastardly,  grovelling, 
and  slavish  souls  ?'^*  Whatever  may  be  thought  of 
the  principle  asserted,  there  can  be  but  one  opinion 
as  to  the  zeal  for  civil  and  religious  liberty  which 
dictated  its  defence;  and  we  may  safely  leave  that 
defence  to  take  its  place  among  other  illustrations, 
afforded  us  in  the  present  times,  of  the  instructive 
fact,  that  those  who  are  the  most  enlightened  defend- 
ers of  civil  establishments  of  religion,  are  also  the 
most  zealous  assertors  of  the  true  indcjiendence  of 

*Life  of  Melville,  vol.  i.,  p.  212.  Tliese  two  sentences  were 
added  in  the  second  edition,  and,  of  course,  after  perusing  tiie 
criticisms  referred  to. 


INDEPENDENCE  OF  THE  CHURCH.  217 

the  Churcli;  while  those  who  cry  most  loudly  for  a 
total  separation  between  Church  and  State,  would, 
in  such  a  case,  deliver  up  the  Church  to  lie,  like  a 
criminal  in  manacles,  crouching  and  crawling  at  the 
feet  of  the  civil  power. 

The  objections  of  Dr.  Irving  deserve  a  little  farther 
attention.  "  I  am  not  disposed,"  he  sa3's,  "  to  think 
with  Dr.  M'Crie,  that  Melville  urged  a  good  and 
solid  plea  when  he  averred  that,  in  the  first  instance, 
he  was  only  amenable  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  ec- 
clesiastical court.  He  was  charged  with  having  ut- 
tered seditious  and  treasonable  words  in  the  pulpit, 
and  for  such  conduct  he  was  certainly  liable  to  eccle- 
siastical censure;  but  was  the  civil  judij:atory  to  sus- 
pend its  right  of  investigating  so  grave  a  charge  as 
this,  and  to  pause  till  the  ecclesiastical  judicatory  had 
duly  deliberated  whether  any,  and  what  censure,  was 
to  be  pronounced?  Sins,  however  glaring,  if  the  law 
does  not  rank  them  among  crimes,  may  safely  be 
left  to  the  discipline  of  the  Church;  but  if  the 
ecclesiastical  tribunal  had  been  found  competent  to 
interpose  in  cases  of  sedition  and  treason,  what 
should  have  prevented  it  from  interposing  in  cases 
of  robbery  and  murder?  It  does  not,  therefore,  ap- 
pear to  have  been  unreasonable  and  unjust  in  Dr. 
Robertson  to  identify  the  plea  advanced  by  Melville, 
with  the  claim  which  the  Popish  clergy  made  to  ex- 
emption from  the  civil  jurisdiction."*  In  reply  to 
this  I  would  briefly  say,  that  the  wliole  spii-it  of  the 
plea  was  different  from  that  of  the  Romish  clergy, 
its  intention  being  not  to  withdraw  the  persons  of  the 
ministers  from  the  jurisdiction  of  law,  but  to  protect 
religious  exercises  from  the  coercion  of  despotism; 
that  the  reason  why  the  church  claimed  a  right  of 
previous  interposition  in  cases  of  sedition  and  trea- 
son was,  that  such  crimes  have  too  often  been  identi- 
fied with  the  faitliful  preaching  of  the  Gospel;  and 
that  it  does  not  follow  from  such  a  claim,  that  the 

"Lives  of  Scotiiiih  Wi-iter:-,  vol.  i.,  p.  I'JQ. 
19 


218  LIFE  OP  DR.  M'CRIE. 

church  had  a  right  to  interpose  in  the  case  of  other 
crimes  which  have  no  supposable  connexion  with  the 
proper  exercise  of  the  ministerial  office.* 

The  second  edition  of  the  Life  of  Melville  was 
published  December  29,  1823.  The  author  informs 
us  in  the  preface,  that  in  preparino;  this  edition  he 
had  "  corrected  such  inaccuracies  in  the  language  and 
in  the  statement  of  facts  as  occurred  to  him.  But 
the  chief  alteration  which  has  been  made  is  on  the 
arrangement.  The  accounts  of  the  state  of  litera- 
ture in  Scotland,  which  were  formerly  interspersed 
through  the  work,  are  now  collected  and  placed  in 
two  chapters  at  the  close,  with  the  exception  of  those 
facts  which  could  not  well  be  separated  from  the 
narrative  of  Melville's  studies  and  academical  em- 
ployments. This,  it  is  hoped,"  he  adds,  "  will  be 
found  an  improvement,  by  enabling  the  reader  to 
peruse  the  Life  without  interruption."  Great  pains 
indeed  had  been  taken  in  the  preparation  of  this  edi- 
tion j  the  work  may  be  said  to  have  been  re-written, 
so  extensive  are  the  alterations,  and  (with  some  ex- 
ceptions) the  improvements  made  on  the  style  and 
arrangement;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  the  author 
found  reason  to  retract  any  statement  of  importance, 
or  to  qualify  any  of  his  opinions.  Upon  the  style 
of  the  Life  of  Melville,  it  would  not  become  rne  to 
pass  a  judgment;  but  1  may  be  permitted  to  insert 
here  the  opinion  of  one  who  will  be  allowed  to  have 
been  an  excellent  judge  on  this  point, — the  late  ce- 
lebrated Robert  Mall  of  Bristol — which  has  been 
kindly  communicated  lo  me  by  one  who  heard  him 
express  it.  "  Mr.  Hall  thought  very  highly  of  the 
two  great  works,  the  Lives  of  Knox  and  Melville,  on 
which  the  fame  of  Dr.  M'Crie  chiefly  rests.  Speak- 
ing of  other  historians,  he  gave  it  as  his  opinion, 

*  Let  the  reader  consult  Life  of  Melville,  vol.  i.,  p.  20G — 216, 
2d  ed.;  p.  2'J5 — 304,  1st  ed.,  where  Dr.  Robertson's  charge  will 
be  found  answered.  Some  judicious  observations  on  this  point 
occur  in  an  article  on  Dr.  Irving's  Lives  of  Scottish  Writers,  in 
the  Presbyterian  Review,  April  1839,  p.  707. 


THE  UNION  OF  SECEDERS,  1820.  219 

that  Hume,  in  his  writings  generally,  but  especially 
in  his  History  of  England,  had  carried  English  style 
to  the  highest  pitch  of  perfection.  Of  Robertson  he 
thought  less.  "  Indeed,"  he  said,  "I  prefer  M'Crie 
to  Robertson;  there  is  more  vigour  in  it,  and  it  is 
more  the  style  of  a  man  of  genius."' 

The  year  1820  furnished  him  with  a  new  topic  of 
interest  in  the  union  which  was  then  ejBfected  between 
the  two  larger  bodies  of  Burgliers  and  Antiburghers, 
under  the  name  of  the  United  Associate  Synod. 
The  distance  to  which  a  body  of  Christians  may 
have  silently  shifted  from  their  original  ground, 
during  a  long  series  of  years,  is  never  rendered  so 
perceptible  as  when  they  are  induced  to  remodel  the 
terms  of  their  ecclesiastical  fellowsliip;  as  the  de- 
fects of  an  old  building  only  become  apparent  when 
an  attempt  is  made  to  enlarge  or  alter  its  structure. 
The  result  of  the  application  of  this  test  to  the  two 
large  sections  of  the  Secession  in  1820,  was  the  dis- 
covery, then  made  more  palpable  than  ever,  that  sen- 
timents had  been  gradually  leavening  them  both, 
which  placed  them  in  direct  opposition  to  the  re- 
formed and  covenanted  Church  of  Scotland.  In  the 
basis  of  union  adopted  by  the  united  body,  the  sub- 
ordinate standards  of  that  Church  were  no  longer 
recognised,  as  they  had  been  by  the  first  Seceders, 
as  parts  of  "the  covenanted  uniformity;"  the  Confes- 
sion of  Faith  and  Catechisms  were  received  under 
limitations,  which  attached  to  them,  in  vague  terms, 
the  stigma  of  teaching  intolerance  and  persecution; 
a  general  declaration,  informing  the  world  that  they 
were  Presbyterians,  was  substituted  in  place  of  the 
Directory  for  Public  Worship  and  the  Form  of  Pres- 
byterial  Church  Government,  which  were  discarded; 
the  decided  assertion  of  the  binding  obligation  of 
our  solemn  covenants  on  posterity,  so  long  distinctive 
of  Seceders,  was  exchanged  for  a  compliment  to  "our 
reforming  ancestors,"  and  the  ambiguous  acknow- 
ledgment "that  we  are  under  high  obligations  to  main- 
tain and  prosecute  the  work  of  reformation  begun, 


220  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

and  to  a  great  extent  carried  on  by  them;"  and  as 
tlie  cementing  principle  of  the  union,  the  doctrine  of 
"forbearance"  was  laid  down  in  such  a  way  as  to 
admit  of  almost  indefinite  extension  to  every  point 
on  which  the  uniting  parties  might  be  supposed  or 
expected  to  disagree.* 

Against  a  union  formed  on  such  principles,  a  con- 
siderable number  of  ministers,  connected  with  the 
Antiburgher  Synod,  protested;  and  the  Protesters, 
as  they  were  called,  constituted  themselves  into  a 
Synod.  This  excellent  body  of  men,  who  were  fol- 
lowed by  many  in  their  congregations,  and  in  whose 
number  were  included  the  late  Professor  Paxton,  au- 
thor of  the  well-known  "Illustrations  of  Scripture;" 
Dr.  Stevenson  of  Ayr,  author  of  standard  treatises 
on  the  Atonement,  and  on  the  Offices  of  Christ;  Mr. 
James  Gray  and  other  excellent  ministers,  soon  dis- 
covered that,  in  the  constitution  of  the  United  Synod, 
there  was,  besides  other  defections,  an  entire  break- 
ing up  of  all  the  distinguishing  features  of  the  Se- 
cession; and  that,  instead  of  aiming  at  the  reforma- 
tion of,  or  contemplating  reunion  with,  the  national 
church,  principles  were  adopted  which  would  neces- 
sarily lead  to  the  proclamation  of  interminable  war 
with  all  establishments. j"     Sentiments  so  similar  to 

*  Basis  of  Union,  agreed  upon  by  the  Associate  and  General 
Associate  Synods,  April  28,  1820.  j1  Ket/ necessary  for  under- 
standino-  the  Basis  of  Union  of  the  United  Secession  Church. 
Edinburgh,  1821. 

t  "  We  especially  regret,"  says  one  of  the  Protesters,  "that 
the  article  contains  nothing  satisfying  with  respect  to  the  original 
object  and  inspiring  design  of  the  Secession,  the  reformation  of 
the  Established  Church.  The  first  Seceders,  for  a  considerable 
period,  retained  the  cheering  hope  of  an  honourable  return  to 
their  mother's  house.  The  expectation  infused  a  truly  liberal 
spirit  into  their  administration,  and  imparted  a  character  of 
genuine  good-will,  even  to  their  pleadings  and  contendings. 
Tliey  abetted  no  divisive  scheme,  in  opposition  to  the  true 
interests  of  the  Church,  and  proved  tliemselves  the  steady,  con- 
sistent friends  of  Scriptural  unity  and  peace.  At  an  early  stage 
of  their  procedure,  we  find  the  four  brethren  at  the  bar  of  the 
Assembl}'-,  with  proposals  of  accommodation  in  their  hands.  'If,' 
say  tliey,  '  the  aljove  things  were  done,  we  might  have  the  pros- 


THE  PROTESTERS.  221 

those  for  which  Dr.  M'Crie  and  his  brethren  had 
contended  at  a  former  stage  of  their  appearance, 
could  not  fail  to  produce  a  mutual  understanding  be- 
tween them  and  the  Protesters;  and  this  led  to  a 
correspondence,  which  soon  issued  in  a  happy  and 
harmonious  union. 

Though  extremely  averse  to  controversy,  and 
scrupulous,  even  to  shyness,  in  intermeddling  with 
questions  which  did  not  immediately  lie  in  his  wa}', 
the  ominous  conjunction  of  1820  proved  too  deep- 
ly interesting  to  our  author  to  admit  of  his  remain- 
ing a  silent  spectator.  He  willingly  entered  into  a 
correspondence  with  his  former  brethren  the  Pro- 
testers; and  the  following  extracts  will  illustrate 
the  sentiments  he  had  formed  on  the  points  in  dis- 
pute:— 

It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  expose  the  plea  that 
"  in  the  Union  Church  nothing  is  given  up,  and  in  it 
every  vow  may  be  performed."  That  this  is  a  false 
and  deceitful  "  watch-word,"  (whatever  may  be  the 
views  of  some  who  use  it,)  may  be  discovered  by  a 
simple  comparison  of  the  Union  basis  and  formula 
with  the  formula  and  vow  once  in  authority  among 
us. — "  What  has  been  given  up  ?"  it  is  asked.  Every 
thing  that  has  been  in  dispute  between  the  two  so- 
cieties for  seventy  years.  The  unlawfulness  of  swear- 
ing oaths  which  are  contradictory,  and  of  tolerating 
practices  which  are  acknowledged  to  be  sinful — the 
seasonableness  of  covenanting — the  defects  of  the 
Revolution  settlement, &c.  Besides  these,other  things 

pect  of  a  pleasant  and  desirable  unity  and  harmony  witii  our 
i)rethrcn.'  And  down  to  the  year  1747,  if  any  man  wished  to 
know  on  what  terms  Seceders  were  wilHng  to  return  to  the 
Established  Churcii,  he  had  only  to  consult  their  public  papers. 
Aow,  we  are  left  without  any  tiling  precise,  except  a  vindication 
of  the  commencement  and  continuance  of  Secession.  It  miglit 
seem  harsli  to  say  that  we  espouse  a  foreign  interest,  and  pro- 
claim interminable  war.  But  surely  our  kindred  with  our  mother 
Church  is  not  acknowledored  as  of  old,  and  nothing  in  the  Basis 
pledges  the  consent  of  Seceders  with  respect  to  the  original  and 
most  desirable  object  of  their  asssociation." — Basis  calmly  Con- 
sidered, by  the  Rev,  James  Gray,  p.  14. 

19* 


222  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

which  formed  no  object  of  dispute,  but  were  recog- 
nised by  both  sides — such  as  tlie  perpetual  obliga- 
tion of  our  covenants — have  been  given  up:  not  to 
mention  what  is  taken  for  granted  and  recognised, 
yea  what  may  be  considered  the  corner-stone  of  the 
basis,  the  propriety  of  laying  aside  and  dropping  all 
things  in  which  the  parties  differ,  or  making  them 
points  of  judicial  forbearance,  which  may  be  extended 
and  acted  upon  with  indefinite  latitude,  and  which 
falls  in  so  completely  with  the  loose  notions  which  at 
present  pervade  the  religious  world,  and  are  the  very 
snai'e  by  which  Seceders  are  in  danger  of  being 
caught,  and  of  being  stripped  of  every  thing  charac- 
teristic either  of  their  spirit  or  of  their  profession. 

"'But  you  may  retain  in  the  Union  all  your  prin- 
ciples on  these  subjects  as  before.'  It  is  not  my 
principles  that  are  in  question,  but  the  principles  or 
ratlier  the  profession  of //te  body;  and  in  this  respect 
every  thing  is  given  up.  If  the  question  were  merely 
about  my  principles,  I  would  enjoy  them  at  more 
complete  freedom,  out  of  societj',  and  by  stand- 
ing as  an  isolated  and  independent  individual.  A 
faithful  performance  of  such  vows  as  were  made  in 
ihe  Secession,  would  be  fatal  to  the  peace  of  a  society 
founded  on  the  latitudinarian  principles, — it  would 
soon  become  intolerable  by  their  law  of  toleration; 
and  experience  would  show,  that  the  language  which 
they  hold  is  akin  to  that  which  has  been  derided  in 
the  abettors  of  persecution,  when  they  say,  We 
trouble  none  for  his  conscience  or  principles,  pro- 
vided he  keeps  them  to  himself,  and  does  not  disturb 
others  with  them." 

"  Your  three  friends  called  on  me  after  the  Synod. 
I  had  a  long  conversation  with  them,  in  the  course  of 
which  they  ultroneousl}^  expressed  it  as  their  common 
desire  that  they  should  join  with  the  members  of  our 
Presbytery  in  making  a  stand  for  the  Reformation 
interest,  and  urged  me,  with  no  little  importunity,  to 
publish  something  wiiich  might  confirm  their  state- 
nicnts,  and  by  throwing  light  on  the  original  object 


CORRESPONDENCE  ON  THE  UNION  OF   1S20.      223 

of  the  Secession,  might  pave  the  way  for  the  real 
friends  of  it  uniting.  On  their  pledging  their  word 
that  they  were  at  a  point,  and  did  not  mean  to  tam- 
per farther  with  the  popular  Union,  I  gave  them 
something  like  a  promise;  and  in  prosecution  of  it,  I 
had  hegun  to  draw  up  something  in  tlie  form  of  an 
appendix  to  a  sermon  on  the  healing  of  divisions  in 
the  Church,  13ut  the  proposal  you  mention,  would 
in  itself  prevent  me  from  doing  any  thing  of  the  kind. 
If  they  are  desirous  of  hanging  on  till  next  meeting 
of  the  Union  Synod,  and  then  making  a  proposition 
to  it,  no  seer  is  required  to  predict  that  they  will  go 
the  same  way  as  your  brethren  on  5'our  right  and 
left  hand.  Slrange  infatuation!  After  having  dis- 
covered tlje  snare  by  which  they  are  in  danger  of 
being  caught — after  escaping  from  it  with  difficulty — 
after  seeing  their  fellows  fall  into  it  one  after  ano- 
ther— to  hover  around  it,  to  draw  again  towards  it, 
to  fly  about  the  hand  of  the  fowler  and  tempt  him  to 
spread  his  net  in  a  more  captivating  way !  Ephraim, 
'  silly  dove  '  as  he  was,  justified  his  wisdom  more  than 
such  persons.  My  dear  Sir,  it  requires  all  the  faith  I 
can  muster,  propped  by  all  my  recollections  of  what 
has  formerly  occurred,  to  prevent  me  from  hastily 
saying,  ^  All  men  are  liars.'  Blessed  be  God,  who 
brought  about  a  glorious  deliverance  in  our  land, 
when  there  were  men  (of  his  own  providing,  no  doubt, 
but  still  men)  of  another  spirit;  for  verily  if  the 
men  of  this  generation  had  then  been  alive,  we  had 
been  sitting  in  Antichristian  darkness,  or  writhing 
under  the  lash  of  prelatical  taskmasters!  I  have  told 
you  all  my  heart." 

The  same  correspondent  having  put  some  hypothe- 
tical questions  for  the  satisfaction  of  his  own  mind, 
drew  forth  the  following  reply  : — "Oct.  19,  1820. — 
There  is  one  sentence  in  your  letter  which  I  do  not 
well  understand.  After  expressing  an  approbation 
of  what  I  have  published  on  the  subject  of  the  public 
interests  of  religion,  higher  than  I  expected  or  am 
entitled  to,  you  add,  '  yet  I  fear  we  difler  consider- 


224  LIFi:   OP  DR.   M'CUIE. 

ably  in  our  estimate  of  the  worth  of  latitudinarian 
religion,  and  the  motives  of  its  patrons,  whether  they 
are  called  Scceders  or  not.'  If  you  are  more  chari- 
table than  I  am  in  judging  of  motives,  1  desire  to  re- 
joice in  your  attainments,  and  hope  to  learn  from 
you.  All  I  can  say  is,  that  I  believe  there  are  many 
who  profess  strict  principles  from  very  unworthy  mo- 
tives, and  many  who  profess  lax  principles  from  the 
best  of  motives.  Nor  am  I  conscious  to  myself  of  a 
prevailing  disposition  to  erect  myself  into  a  judge  of 
any  man's  motives,  or  summarily  to  pronounce  on 
those  of  a  whole  class  or  part3\  If  by  '  latitudinarian 
religion '  you  mean  the  religious  dispositions  or  the 
piety  of  latitudinarians,  I  can  only  repeat  the  same 
answer — its  wortii  is  just  like  the  worth  of  religion 
in  any  other  class  of  men,  according  to  its  reality  and 
degree.  But  if  you  mean  the  system  of  latitudinari- 
anism,  then  I  must  say  decidedly  that  I  reckon  it 
worse  than  icorthless — abjured  by  Seceders — utterly 
irreconcilable  with  their  principles — destructive  of 
any  thing  like  a  testimony  or  contendings  for  truth 
and  reformation — and,  if  pursued  all  the  length  to 
which  its  principles  lead,  eversive  of  all  religion,  or 
of  any  distinction  between  that  which  is  true  and 
that  which  is  false.  I  look  upon  it  as  the  great 
plague  of  the  church  in  the  present  day,  and  what  to 
all  appearance  will  become,  more  than  it  has  yet  been, 
the  temptation  by  which  we  are  to  be  tried.  But  it 
is  impossible  that  this  can  be  your  meaning." 

"  I  need  not  insist,"  he  says  in  another  letter, 
April  11,  1S21,  "on  the  important  circumstance  of 
the  views  of  the  majority  in  the  Synod  being  sup- 
ported by  the  prevailing  tone  of  public  sentiment, 
and  the  undeniable  fact  that  sentiments  far  more 
liberal  and  remote  from  former  principles,  are  enter- 
tained by  most  at  least  on  the  Burgher  side  of  the 
Union — and  that  there  is  every  reason  to  look  for  a 
gradual  development  of  these,  instead  of  a  return  to 
the  original  ground.  I  see  therefore  no  prospect  of 
any  efficient  stand  being  made  for  the  public  cause 


COUUE.SPONDENCE  ON  THE  UNION  OF  1S20.       225 

unless  by  a  firm  and  compact,  though  perhaps  small, 
body  of  those  who  are  cordially  attached  to  that  cause 
being  collected  and  combined.  To  this  all  the  real 
friends  of  the  covenanted  cause  should  bend  their 
endeavours.  If  this  is  not  done,  all  seems  to  be  over 
in  our  day.  When  all  is  examined,  it  will  be  found 
that  the  question  simply  comes  to  this — Latiludina- 
rianism,  as  hitherto  condemned  by  Seceders,  or  the 
Covenanted  Reformation,  as  hitherto  avouched  by 
them — whether  is  the  former  or  the  latter  of  God?" 
"November  6,  1820. — I  need  not  suggest  to  your 
mind  the  practical  improvement  to  be  itiade  of  these 
distressing  and  stumbling  occurrences.  0  that  we  may 
be  kept  from  taking  offence,  as  well  as  giving  offence, 
and  that  we  had  undeistanding  to  see  that  all  the 
ways  of  the  Lord  are  right,  and  to  walk  in  them ! 
Are  we  not  taught,  with  a  strong  hand,  to  cease  from 
man,  and  not  to  trust  in  princes — the  princes  of  God's 
people?  Amidst  all  the  instability  and  tergiversa- 
tion of  men  and  ministers,  the  hand  of  God  should 
not  be  overlooked.  It  is  He  that  has  righteously 
,  divided  us  in  Jacob  and  scattered  us  in  Israel.  When 
*Manasseh  is  against  Ephraim,  and  Ephraim  ngainst 
Manasseh,  and  they  together  against  Judah,'  it  is  an 
evidence  that  his  anger  is  not  turned  away.  Often 
have  we  confessed,  and  professed  to  mourn  over  the 
sin  and  apostacy  of  the  land  ;  but,  alas!  we  have  not 
been  affected  with  our  own  sins,  and  the  fuel  we 
have  ministered  to  the  provocation.  'When  ye 
fasted  in  the  fifth  and  seventh  month,  even  these 
seventy  years,''  (mark  the  period,'*)  <  did  ye  at  all  fast 
unto  me,  even  unto  me?'  During  a  period  of  long 
peace  and  rest,  the  Secession  body,  like  other  socie- 
ties, had  settled  on  her  lees,  and  had  begun  to  say,  in 
practical  denial  of  her  solemn  profession,  'the  Lord 
will  not  do  good,  neither  will  he  do  evil.'     That  we 

*  The  reference  liere  seems  to  be  to  the  year  1750,  when  the 
breacli  between  tlie  Burghers  and  Antiburgliers  was  consununated 
by  the  latter  having  pronounced  on  tlie  former  the  sentence  of" 
excommunication.  From  that  time  to  1820,  when  lie  was 
writing,  the  period  was  exactly  seventy  years. 


228  LIFE  OF  Dn.  m'crie. 

may  be  defecated,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  be 
emptied  from  vessel  to  vessel. 

"All  Christians,  and  ministers  especially,  ought  to 
lay  their  account  with  conflicts  in  which  their  hard- 
ness as  good  soldiers  of  Christ  shall  be  put  to  the 
trial.  I  recollect  an  anecdote  told  of  himself  by 
our  late  venerable  Professor,  Mr.  Bruce.  After  Mr. 
Walker  of  Denny-Loanhead  had  admitted  him  to 
communion,  he  said  to  him  in  his  homely  way,  'Bill}', 
you  have  done  a  thing  to-day  that  may  cost  you  going 
to  the  scaffold  yet.'  We  have  not  been  called  to  re- 
sist unto  blood  as  some  of  our  fathers  were  in  the 
same  cause,  but  our  vow  binds  us  as  far  as  this.  I 
hear  Mr. is  saying,  as  an  excuse  for  his  con- 
duct, that  he  is  wearied  of  contentions.  But  we 
must  not  be  weary  of  any  part  of  well-doing,  which 
*  contending  earnestly  for  the  faith'  is;  nor  must  we 
think  of  laying  aside  our  armour  here.  It  would 
be  well  if  the  present  broils  made  us  long  for  the 
union  and  peace  of  heaven,  as  David  did  to  escape 
from  Mesech."  * 

No  man  could  be  more  really  solicitous  for  union 
among  Christian  brethren,  or  could  do  more  in  his 
sphere  for  accomplishing  it  than  Dr.  M'Crie.  During 
the  course  of  negotiations  for  a  union  between  the 
Synod  of  Original  Burghers  and  the  Constitutional 
Presbytery,  which  commenced  at  a  very  early  period, 
and  were  renewed  in  1820, — he  showed  his  zeal  in 
this  good  work  to  such  a  degree,  as  to  excite  suspi- 
cions in  some  of  his  brethren  that  he  was  willing  to 
sacrifice  for  peace  the  interests  of  truth.  His  opinion, 
however,  exactly  coincided  with  that  so  well  ex- 
pressed l)y  Robert  Hall:  "Peace  should  be  anxiously 
sought,  but  always  in  suboi'dination  to  purity;  antl 
therefore  every  attempt  to  reconcile  the  differences 
among  Christians  which  involves  the  sacrifice  of 
truth,  or  the  deliberate  deviation  from  the  revealed 

*To  the  Rev.  James  Gray. 


HIS  SOLICITUDE  FOK  UXIOX.  237 

will  of  Christ,  is  spurious  in  ils  origin  and  dangerous 
in  its  tendency."* 

"1  augur  little  good,"  he  writes,  in  1820,  to  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Taylor  of  Perth,  then  Professor  of  Divinity 
in  the  Synod  of  Original  Burghers,  "from  the  move- 
ments to  a  union  hetween  the  two  large  bodies  of 
Seceders.  If  the  union  take  place  (and  there  is  rea- 
son to  think  that  it  will,)  it  must  be  on  latitudinarian 
principles.  I  may  be  mistaken  (and  I  shall  be  happy 
to  be  found  in  an  error)  but  I  cannot  help  fearing 
that  with  all  the  professions  of  liberality,  and  freedom 
from  prejudice  and  party  spirit,  niade  by  the  present 
age,  there  is  a  great  want  of  that  spirit  which  leads  to 
a  desirable  and  holy  union,  of  that  love  to  truth,  that 
candour,  that  openness  to  conviction,  and  desire  of 
information,  that  inclination  to  sacrifice  every  thing  hut 
truth  and  conscience  to  the  promoting  of  the  public 

*The  sentiment  which  we  have  quoted  above,  is  remarkably 
inconsistent  with  the  views  on  free  communion,  which  Mr.  Hall 
is  well  known  to  have  entertained  and  acted  upon.  But  the 
ibllowing  extract  will  show  how  he  undertook  to  reconcile  his 
theory  and  his  practice.  "  Suffice  it  to  remark,"  he  says,  "  that 
our  dissent  from  the  Establishment  is  founded  on  the  necessity 
of  departing  from  a  communion,  to  which  certain  corruptions,  in 
our  apprehension,  inseparably  adhere;  while  we  welcome  the 
l)ious  part  of  that  community  to  that  celebration  of  the  Eucharist 
which  we  deem  unexceptionable.  We  recede  from  their  com- 
munion from  necessity;  but  we  feel  no  scruple  in  admitting  them 
to  ours.'" — {Hall's  Works,  vol.  ii.,  p.  435,  comp.  p.  Jl.)  It  is 
obvious,  that  were  all  Christians  in  other  denominations  to  act 
upon  the  same  principle,  and  employ  the  same  language,  (which 
they  must  be  clearly  entitled  to  do,  on  the  supposition  that  they 
are  as  conscientious  as  Mr.  Hall,)  there  could  be  no  such  thing 
as  free  communion.  Mr.  Hall  would  not  compromise  his  prin- 
ciples by  joining  in  communion  with  a  church  to  which  certain 
corruptions,  in  his  apprehension,  inseparably  adhered;  neither 
would  Dr.  M'Crie  compromise  his  principles  by  joining  in  com- 
munion with  Mr.  Hall.  The  only  difference  was,  that  Mr.  Hall 
opened  his  door  for  the  free  admission  of  all,  who  thought  more 
lightly  of  their  peculiarities  than  he  did  of  his;  and  on  the  force 
of  this  one-handed  charity,  (which  was  no  doubt  a  very  con- 
venient mode  for  augmenting  a  communion  roll,)  he  was  gene- 
rally accounted  a  most  liberal  person;  and,  as  I  ara  informed, 
expressed  great  surprise  on  reading  the  Sermons  on  Unity,  "  that 
a  man  of  Dr.  M'Crie's  high  talents  and  theological  attainments 
should  hold  the  illiberal  views  advocated  in  that  publication  1" 


228  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

cause  of"  God,  whlcli  will  appear  when  the  Lord  heals 
the  breaches  of  Zion,  and  makes  her  watchmen  to 
'see  eye  to  eye.'  At  the  same  time,  I  readily  allow 
that  the  measures  presently  in  agitation,  are  a  call  to 
all  the  real  friends  of  the  Reformation  cause,  to  try 
if  it  is  practicable  to  have  any  subsisting  difTerences 
among  them  removed  or  amicably  arranged.  No 
man  can  be  more  convinced  of  this  than  I  am.  The 
tide  of  public  opinion  has  set  in  so  strong  against  that 
cause,  that  it  will  likely  require  their  united  strength 
to  resist  it.  If  they  remain  much  longer  distinct  and 
separate,  they  will  in  all  probability  decrease  and 
dwindle  away;  or  (which  is  more  probable  and  more 
to  be  dreaded)  the  cause  will  die  away  among  thern. 
No  vigorous  exertions  will  be  made  for  preserving  or 
defending  it, — no  exertions  proportionable  to  the 
opposition  that  it  will  have  to  encounter;  and  our 
members  will  gradually  cool  in  their  attachment  to 
it,  and  become  impregnated  with  the  spirit  and  senti- 
ments that  have  spread  all  around  them." 

His  "Two  Discourses  on  the  Unity  of  the  Church, 
her  divisions,  and  their  removal,"  were  published 
early  in  1821.  The  text  is  Ezekiel  xxxvii.  19:  "They 
shall  be  one  in  mine  hand;"  and  the  chief  object  is 
to  point  out  the  fallacious  and  unscriptural  character 
of  modern  plans  of  union;  particularly  that  adopted 
by  the  United  Secession. 

"Among  these  methods  of  uniting  the  friends  of 
religion,"  says  the  author,  "I  know  none  more  im- 
posing, nor  from  which  greater  danger  is  to  be  appre- 
hended in  the  present  time,  than  that  which  proceeds 
on  the  scheme  of  j)rinciples  usually  styled  latitudi- 
narian.  It  has  obtained  this  name  because  it  proclaims 
an  undue  latitude  in  matters  of  religion,  which  per- 
sons may  take  to  themselves  or  give  to  others.  Its 
abettors  make  light  of  the  differences  which  subsist 
among  religious  parties,  and  propose  to  unite  them 
on  the  principles  on  which  they  are  agreed,  in  the 
way  of  burying  the  rest  in  silence,  or  stipulating 
mutual  forbearance  with  respect  to  every  thing  about 


DISCOURSES  ON  UNITY,  1821.  229 

which  they  may  differ  in  opinion  or  in  practice."* 
Of  this  spurious  charity,  there  was  a  vast  quantity 
afloat  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  present  century;  of 
late,  however,  its  hoUowness  and  insufficiency  have 
been  made  manifest,  and  God  has  written  folly  upon 
it,  by  permitting  those  who  were  its  most  zealous 
advocates  to  divide  the  Church  upon  a  question,  on 
which  it  must  be  allowed  good  men  may  differ,  and 
the  introduction  of  which  has  more  thoroughly  alien- 
ated Christians  from  one  another,  and  scattered  the 
firebrands  of  discord  with  more  reckless  profusion, 
than  any  previous  controversy — the  question,  namely, 
as  to  the  best  mode  of  paying  the  ministers  of  the 
Gospel.  Still  the  Discourses  are  valuable  as  a  record 
of  the  author's  views  on  the  nature  of  the  Christian 
CImrch,  and  the  means  which  are  likely  to  prove 
most  effectual  in  removing  her  divisions.  The  Ap- 
pendix to  these  Discourses  consists  of  "  A  Short  View 
of  the  plan  of  Religious  Reformation  and  Union  adopt- 
ed originally  by  the  Secession," — a  somewhat  un- 
alluring  title  to  a  treatise  which  will  be  found  to 
contain,  in  a  very  condensed  form,  the  leading  argu- 
ments in  behalf  of  establishments — a  defence  of  the 
Reformation,  and  of  the  Confession  of  Faith  from  the 
charge  of  teaching  persecuting  principles — the  nature 
and  obligation  of  our  national  Covenants — and  the 
application  of  the  whole  to  the  constitution  of  the 
United  Secession  Church.  This  volume  was  not  ex- 
actly fitted  for  the  end  which  his  friends,  who  urged 
him  to  the  task,  contemplated,  namely,  to  give  a 
popular  view  of  the  original  principles  of  the  Seces- 
sion. It  is  too  profound — enters  too  closely  into 
questions  which  presuppose  some  knowledge  of  past 
controversies — deals  with  scruples  wlikh  lie  too  far 
below  the  surface — to  gain  the  attention  of  ordinary 
readers.  But  on  these  very  accounts,  which  rendered 
it  less  effective  at  the  time,  it  may  prove  more  valu- 
able as  a  book  af  reference  to  those  who  are  anxious 

*  Discouises  on  the  Unity  of  the  Church,  p.  89. 
20 


230  LIFE  OF  DR.  M^CRIE. 

to  study  the  subject,  should  it  so  happen,  (as  seems, 
from  the  direction  of  present  movements,  a  not  un- 
likely event,)  that  the  great  cause  of  the  Covenanted 
Reformation,  now  disowned  by  the  great  body  of 
Seceders,  shall  be  resumed  and  reasserted  by  the 
Church  of  Scotland. 

He  had  no  sooner  published  his  work  than  he  be^an 
to  fear  that  he  had  incurred  the  charge  of  presumption. 
"Before  engaging  in  the  late  small  publication,"  he 
writes  to  one  of  his  fathers  in  the  ministry,  Feb.  19, 
1821,  "1  was  not  insensible  to  the  delicacy  of  the 
task,  nor  can  I  well  tell  how  the  repugnance  felt  to 
the  undertaking  was  o^'ercome.  When  the  work  was 
comg;  on,  I  had  no  time  for  reflection  on  conse- 
quences.  But  no  sooner  was  it  published  than  I  be- 
gan to  accuse  myself  of  rashness  and  presumption,  in 
attempting  such  a  work  without  the  consent  and  ad- 
vice of  my  brethren,  and  in  a  manner  taking  it  out 
of  their  hands.  To  this  succeeded  what  was  as  tor- 
menting, a  full  conviction  that  I  had  wronged  and 
injured  the  cause.  Your  letter,  however,  and  the 
trust  I  repose  in  your  honesty  and  candour,  have 
served  to  remove  my  gloomy  apprehensions,  and  I 
begin  now  to  think  that  I  have  done  some  justice  and 
no  essential  (at  least)  injury  to  the  cause  which  I 
wished  to  serve." 

Then  came  another  source  of  alarm — that  of  being 
involved  in  controversy.  "  The  Two  Discourses," 
he  says  to  another  friend,  "I  do  not  expect  to  be 
popular.  The  literate  would  never  think  of  looking 
at  them — the  good  folk  of  the  auld  kirk  would  throw 
them  away  in  disgust,  and  others,  whom  I  need  not 
name,  with  indignation.  There  is  a  rumour  that  they 
are  to  be  answered.  1  hope  the  Lord  will  preserve 
me  from  controversy.  I  have  a  great  abhorrence  of 
it;  and  rather  than  be  subjected  to  a  reply  and  duply, 
I  would  be  willing  that  the  Sheriff  should  confine  me 
for  three  months  in  the  county  jail,  for  writing  against 
the  constitution  in  church  and  state."  The  work, 
however,  was  never  answered;  and,  so  far  as  I  know, 


MH.  Thomson's  sermons.  231 

it  was  not  noticed  in  any  of  the  periodicals,  except 
the  Scotlish  Episcopal  Review  for  June  1821,  and  the 
Bntish  Critic  for  November  of  the  same  year.  In 
these  Reviews,  the  Discourses  are  treated  with  won- 
derful favour;  the  reviewers  found,  of  course,  the  di- 
vine right  of  Presbytery  taken  for  granted;  and  the 
Brilish  Critic,  availing  himself  of  ibis,  applies  the 
general  principles  laid  down  to  Episcopacy,  quotes 
from  the  volume  with  approbation,  and  concludes  by 
earnestly,  if  not  seriously,  recommending  it  to  the 
perusal  of  all  the  members  and  clergy  of  the  English 
Church! 

The  following  letter,  written  to  his  friend.  Dr. 
Andrew  Thomson,  on  the  publication  of  his  "Ser- 
mons on  Infidelity,"  will  show  the  opinion  which  he 
entertained  of *that  excellent  work: — 

"Gray  Street,  February  1,  1821. 

"My  dear  Sir, — Many  thanks  for  your  bunchy 
little  volume.  Blackwood  would  perhaps  mention 
to  you  the  idea  which  its  shape  first  suggested  to  my 
imagination  when  he  drew  it  from  his  desk.  I  have 
just  finished  it,  and  you  may  guess  from  my  having 
accomplished  the  task  so  soon,  that  1  felt  some  inte- 
rest in  the  progress.  Indeed  I  have  done  nothing 
else  (works  of  necessity  and  mercy  always  excepted) 
since  it  came  into  my  hands.  Whatever  other  vices 
may  cleave  to  our  intercourse,  I  do  not  think  it  has 
been  stained  with  much  flattery.  You  will  therefore 
believe  me,  without  protestations,  when  I  say  that  I 
have  been  highly  gratified  in  the  perusal  of  the  Ser- 
mons, and  am  sanguine  in  my  hoi)es  as  to  the  good 
which  they  will  be  the  means  of  doing.  The  practi- 
cal view  which  is  taken  of  tlie  subject  throughout 
discriminates  them  from  any  work  of  the  same  kind 
with  which  I  am  acquainted.  The  topics  selected 
for  discussion  are  all  important,  they  are  brought 
forward  in  the  best  and  most  distinct  order,  and 
illustrated,  in  my  opinion,  with  equal  force  of  reason- 
ing and  felicity  of  expression.     Every  where  the 


232  LIFE   OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

impress  of  your  mind  appears,  but  it  is  sofleneil,  vvitli- 
out  any  impairing  of  energy  or  effect.  Tliere  is 
enough  of  argument,  and  yet  less  of  tiie  air  of  argu- 
mentation which  you  are  accustomed  to  throw  over 
your  discussions.  To  speak  in  the  hmguage  of  re- 
viewers— 'Where  every  thing  is  good,  it  is  difficult 
to  make  a  selection,' — but  I  was  best  pleased  with  the 
fourth,  eighth,  and  ninth  sermons.  B}'  this  I  do  not 
mean  that  they  are  either  the  ablest,  or  that  they  will 
be  the  most  useful.    Every  one  has  his  favourites. 

"Considering  the  approbation  with  which  I  under- 
stand the  sermons  were  delivered  from  the  pulpit, 
and  which  you  will  still  be  hearing,  it  might  have 
been  more  proper  for  me,  (if  it  were  no  more  than 
for  the  sake  of  seasoning,)  to  have  trj^d  to  act  the 
part  of  a  critic  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word.  A 
few  things  occurred  in  the  course  of  reading,  which 
would  have  been  mentioned  if  you  had  been  present. 
Perhaps  on  a  second  perusal  they  may  be  yet  forth- 
coming, if  you  have  any  desire  to  learn  what  they 
are.  From  what  I  have  said  you  may  gather  that 
they  are  of  minor  consideration. — Ever  yours, 

Tho.  M'Crie." 

His  private  opinions  at  this  period,  regarding  the 
state  of  matters,  both  in  the  Establishment  and  in  the 
Secession,  appear  to  have  been  very  gloomy.  To  one 
of  his  old  friends  he  thus  writes: — "March  8th,  1821. 
I  have  for  a  long  time  been  inclined  to  your  opinion, 
that  the  tendency  of  the  dispensations  of  Providence 
was  to  'the  dissolution  of  all  old  establishments.' 
Yet  I  have  sometimes  felt  checked  by  reflecting  that 
Dr.  Owen,  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  considered 
this  event  as  approaching  when  he  published  his 
sermons  on  <the  shaking  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth.' 
Providence  is  not  the  rule  of  our  duty;  and  it  is  well 
that  this  is  the  case.  For  how  small  a  way  do  we 
see  into  the  mystery  of  its  multiform  and  complicated 
arrangements,  and  how  often  do  we  find  ourselves 
mistaken  in  our  conjectures,  and  even  in  our  most 


FOREBODINGS.  233 

sober  and  deliberate  conclusions  respecting  its  tenden- 
cies and  the  ends  whicli  it  is  pursuing!  'How  long 
shall  it  be  to  the  end  of  these  wonders?  Go  thy  way, 
Daniel,'  &c.  'What  is  that  to  thee?  follow  thou  me.' 
J3ut  if  all  existing  establishments  are  about  to  fall,  the 
call  to  us  is, I  think, the  louder, to  'hold  fast  our  profes- 
sion,'and 'look  to  the  things  which  we  have  wrought.' 
If  such  an  event  shall  take  place,  the  concussion  will 
not  be  slight,  nor  its  effects  trifling; — much  that  is 
good  will  be  overthrown  and  laid  in  ruins,  along  with 
much  that  is  evil, — great  discoveries  will  be  made, 
and  things  which  we  looked  not  for,  and  would  not 
believe  when  they  were  formerly  told  us,  will  be  dis- 
closed. If  sound  and  solid  principles  are  not  pre- 
served, how  shall  the  new  building  be  reared,  and  of 
what  kind  shall  it  be?  I  consider  it  as  a  sad  token 
for  evil,  that  the  Associate  body,  who  once  held  forth 
these,  should  have  relinquished  them,  at  the  very 
time  when  they  had  the  loudest  call  to  retain  and  ex- 
liibit  them;  and  that  by  their  dereliction  they  have 
done  what  cannot  fail  to  shake  and  unsettle  more  and 
more  the  mind  of  the  generation.  Those  who  have 
attended  to  the  rapid  strides  which  Seceders  have 
made  within  these  few  years,  and  observed  with  what 
ease  they  have  thrown  ofi'  what  appeared  to  be  deeply 
rooted  in  their  minds  and  mingled  with  all  their 
associations,  may  be  at  no  loss  to  form  some  idea  of 
the  accelerated  j^Togress  which  they  will  now  make, 
when  released  from  all  former  ties,  and  connected 
with  associates  who  have  long  been  actuated  by  a 
different  spirit,  and  guided  by  different  maxims; — 
and  may  also  form  some  idea,  though  it  is  likely  a 
very  defective  one,  of  the  change  of  sentiment  and 
renunciation  of  principle  which  will  soon  become 
apparent  in  the  religious  world  at  large. — But  I  cease 
to  plague  you  with  my  forebodings,  nor  shall  I  so 
much  as  attempt  to  abate  the  hopes  which  you  have 
formed  from  the  exertions  to  do  good  in  the  present 
day — and  which  are,  I  believe,  more  sanguine  than  I 
can  cherish." 

20* 


234  LIFE   OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

In  the  midst  of  these  melancholy  reflections  on  the 
state  of  public  religion,  he  was  visited  by  a  severe 
domestic  calamity  in  the  loss  of  his  wife,  who  died 
June  1,  1821.  Always  of  a  delicate  constitution, 
her  nervous  system  became  at  last  quite  debilitated, 
and  for  six  years  she  was  confined  to  her  room,  and 
latterly  almost  to  bed.  She  displayed  throughout 
this  linsering  affliction  the  strength  of  her  religious 
principles,  and  proved  that  the  grace  of  God  alone  is 
able  to  support  and  soothe  the  soul;  nor  did  her  na- 
tural shrewdness  of  mind,  and  playfulness  of  temper, 
forsake  her;  during  the  whole  of  her  distress,  every 
thing  connected  widi  household  duties  was  directed 
by  herself  with  punctuality  and  managed  with  eco- 
nomy. It  was  during  this  season  of  trial  that  tlie 
amiable  traits  of  her  husband's  character  were  most 
strikingly  developed.  Many,  I  am  aware,  will  blame 
me  for  not  dwelling  at  greater  length  on  this  part  of 
his  character,  which  struck  with  admiration  all  who 
had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  it.  The  gentleness, 
the  tenderness,  the  affectionate  assiduity,  which  never 
relaxed,  and  with  which  he  would  sutler  no  other  en- 
gagements to  interfere,  while  he  watched  over  the 
fragile  being  who  clung  to  him  for  support — may  be 
remembered,  but  cannot  be  described.  The  intense 
anxiety  with  which  he  marked  the  progress  of  her 
disorder  appears  in  the  whole  of  his  correspondence; 
and  as  it  approached  its  fatal  tei-mination,  he  endea- 
vours, vainly,  to  summon  resolution  to  meet  the  issue. 
"My  family  distress  has  been  great,"  he  says.  May 
9,  1821,  "and  it  was  with  difficulty  I  could  bear  up 
during  the  sacramental  work.  Mrs.  M'Crie  is  now, 
however,  somewhat  relieved  and  recruited.  Bolh 
you  and  I,  though  on  different  grounds,  have  need  to 
obey  the  voice,  Sursum  corda!*  We  may  at  least 
lift  up  our  eyes,  and  He  who  made  both  can  cause  the 
eye  to  affect  the  heart,  and  draw  it  after  it."  But 
after  the  sad  event,  there  remains  not  the  slightest 

*  "  Lift  up  your  hearts." 


FAMILY  BEREAVEMENTS.  235 

notice  or  memorandum,  under  his  own  hand,  from 
which  we  can  discover  the  state  of  his  feelings.  The 
wound  went  deep,  but  it  bled  inwardly.  His  dejec- 
tion was  but  too  visible;  but  with  the  natural  reserve 
which  made  him  conceal  from  his  friends  and  family 
those  private  sorrows  which  touched  him  most 
keenly,  there  was  evidently  mingled  that  devout 
acquiescence  in  the  will  of  God  which  breathes  in  the 
words  he  chose  for  his  text  after  his  bereavement: — 
"I  was  dumb,  and  opened  not  my  mouth;  because 
Thou  didst  it." 

The  want  of  any  private  record  of  his  feelings 
under  these  trying  circumstances,  might  be  supplied, 
in  some  degree,  from  his  correspondence  with  those 
who  had  met  with  similar  trials.  The  following 
letter  of  condolence,  written  a  few  years  after  this, 
to  an  aged  friend  labouring  under  the  combined  cala- 
mities of  blindness  and  bereavement,  discovers  the 
source  from  whence  he  himself  drew  consolation;  and 
it  is  valuable,  though  it  were  only  to  show  how  ten- 
derly he  could  enter  into  the  feelings,  and  express 
himself  in  language  suited  to  the  capacity,  of  the 
most  simple-minded  Christian. 

''Dear  Sir, — 1  sympathized  with  you  deeply  on 
hearing  of  the  loss  of  your  valuable  partner,  and 
would  haVe  written  you  at  the  time,  but  thought  it 
better  to  delay  for  awhile.  I  know  from  exjjerience, 
that  a  person  in  your  circumstances  does  not  always 
need  comfort  most  at  the  time  when  the  trial  is  fresh. 
He  is  sometimes  so  stunned  with  the  severity,  or  so 
surprised  with  the  suddenness  or  strangeness  of  it, 
that  he  does  not  feel  himself  fit  for  listening  to  what 
may  be  said  to  him.  At  such  a  time,  too,  there  are 
ordinarily  a  great  number  of  persons  prepared  to  con- 
dole with  him,  and  to  suggest  topics  of  consolation. 
But  though  the  sharpest  trial  is  at  the  moment  of  be- 
reavement, this  is  not  always  the  heaviest.  After 
we  get  time  to  recover  ourselves  and  to  reflect,  our 
loss  is  felt  to  be  greater  than  ever,  and  we  find  that 
we  have  more  need  of  comfort  than  we  had  at  the 


236  LIFE  OF  DU  M'cruE. 

beginning.  You  may  perhaps  feel  something  of  this 
kind.  To  lose  so  afiectionate,  sensible  and  godly  a 
companion  as  you  were  favoured  with,  and  after  living 
so  long  together,  is  certainly  no  ordinary  trial.  And 
you  may  perhaps  reflect  that,  in  your  circumstances, 
it  has  peculiar  aggravations.  But  I  doubt  not  that 
you  will  also  call  to  mind,  that  there  are  other  cir- 
cumstances that  strongly  plead  for  resignation  and 
praise.  Is  it  not  great  matter  of  thanksgiving  that 
she  was  lent  to  you  so  long?  If  you  were  happy, 
and  so  long  happy,  in  the  enjoyment  of  her  company, 
should  you  not  reflect  on  this  with  joy,  instead  of 
turning  it  (as  our  minds  are  too  apt  to  do)  into  matter 
of  bitter  regret?  You  are  not  left  alone  and  without 
earthly  friends,  whom  you  love  and  by  whom  you 
are  beloved.  And  though  none  of  them  can  fill  the 
place  of  her  who  is  gone,  may  you  not  turn  this  to 
your  advantage,  by  rising  in  your  affections  heaven- 
ward, becoming  more  dead  to  the  world,  and  con- 
fiding more  unreservedly  in  Him  who  hath  said,  'I 
will  never  leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee?'  It  ought  to 
give  us  joy  (and  it  would  do  it  were  we  not  so  selfish 
even  in  our  love)  that  those  whom  we  loved  best  are 
now  better  than  they  ever  were  with  us,  or  could 
have  been  if  they  had  remained  heie — that  they  are 
free  from  pain  and  sorrow,  and  anxiety  and  sin- — that 
they  are  just  where  they  wished  to  be  in  their  best 
moments,  and  find  it  to  be  a  far  more  blessed  place 
than  their  hearts  had  ever  conceived  it  to  be.  The 
best  improvement  we  can  make  of  their  death  is  to 
quicken  our  hearts  to  a  cheerful  and  diligent  prepara- 
tion for  following  them.  They  have  only  gone  a 
little — a  very  little  before  us.  Dear  Sir,  I  have  no 
doubt  you  are  comforting  yourself  and  family  with 
these  things.  But,  after  all,  our  feelings  will  oftcfn 
get  the  better  of  our  faith.     I  know  that  when  I  come 

to ,  I  shall  find  a  great  blank.     What  then 

must  you  feel?  But  God  'filleth  all  in  all.'  I  am. 
Dear  Sir,  yours  affectionately, 

"Tho.  M'Crie." 


VISIT  TO  HOLLAND,  237 

While  yet  smarting  under  his  loss,  he  engaged  in 
drawing  up  a  review  of  Orme's  Life  of  Owen,  which 
appeared  in  the  Christian  Instructor  for  July,  August, 
and  Septemher  1821.  Part  of  the  materials  for  this 
valual)le  and  important  article  was  furnished  by  Dr. 
Brown  of  Langton,  but  the  greater  portion  of  it  was 
written  by  our  author,  the  impress  of  whose  style  and 
manner  can  hardly  be  mistaken;  "and,  indeed,  says 
Dr.  Brown,  in  communicating  this  fact  to  the  present 
writer,  "I  consider  his  portion  of  it  as  the  most 
valuable  historical  vindication  of  Presbyterians  from 
the  misrepresentations  of  Independents  that  is  any 
where  to  be  met  with." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FROM  THE  PUBLICATION  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  MELVILLE, 
TO  THE  PUBLICATION  OF  HIS  LAST  HISTORI- 
CAL WORK,  THE   HISTORY  OF  THE 
REFORMATION  IN  SPAIN. 
1821—1829. 

Soon  after  the  severe  bereavement  recorded  in  the 
close  of  the  foregoing  chapter.  Dr.  M'Crie's  health 
began  to  be  seriously  affected  by  his  intense  studies. 
He  complained  of  shiverings, accompanied  with  gene- 
ral debility  and  spitting  of  blood.  In  addition  to  his 
other  ailments,  his  eyesight  suffered  so  considerably 
from  constant  application  to  old  faded  manuscripts, 
that  total  blindness  was  at  one  time  apprehended,  and 
he  was  obliged  to  employ  an  amanuensis.  It  is  not 
surprising  that  these  circumstances  should  have  pro- 
duced a  depression  of  spirits  unfitting  him  for  active 
exertion.  "I  am  not  naturally  melancholy  or  en- 
thusiastic," he  confesses  to  a  friend  in  January  1822, 
"but  I  have  been  inclined  for  some  time  to  think  that 


23S  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

my  public  usefulness  (if  I  have  been  in  any  good  de- 
gree useful)  is  nearly  ovei\  1  am  not  weary  of  life, 
but  I  confess  I  see  daily  less  and  less  reason  to  be 
greatly  attached  to  it.  Perhaps  if  its  termination 
presented  itself  as  nearer,  I  might  discover  a  different 
feeling."  Still,  however,  he  could  sympathize  with 
those  placed  in  happier  circumstances;  for,in  the  same 
letter,  congratulating  his  friend  on  some  favourable 
change  in  his  lot,  he  says,  "I  need  not  tell  you,  my 
dear  Sir,  that  when  our  God  does  much,  he  expects 
much;  and  that  ingratitude  was  the  great  sin,  and 
prolific  source  of  sin  in  his  ancient  people — in  David 
himself,  in  Solomon,  and  in  Hezekiah.  They  re- 
membered not  what  great  things  he  had  done  for 
them,  and  rendered  not  unto  him  according  to  his 
benefits.  Sanctified  afflictions  are  the  greatest  of 
mercies,  unsanctified  deliverances  the  greatest  of 
curses  to  an  individual  or  a  people." 

In  these  circumstances  he  was  prevailed  upon  to 
take  a  short  tour  to  the  Continent.  "I  sail  this 
evening  for  London,"  he  writes  May  28,  1S22. 
"Cannot  say  1  have  a  great  heart  for  the  jaunt,  which 
I  take  more  in  compliance  with  the  urgency  of  others, 
than  from  my  own  opinion  of  its  propriety."  He 
sailed  for  Holland,  landed  at  Rotterdam,  visited  the 
Hague,  Leyden,  Haerlem,  Amsterdam  and  Utrecht, 
and  returned  home,  after  an  absence  of  scarcely  two 
months,  much  pleased  with  his  journey,  and  "greatly 
benefited  and  recruited  in  his  health."  During  his 
stay  in  Holland  he  preached  only  once,  in  the  Scotch 
church  at  Rotterdam.  Even  this  flying  visit,  how- 
ever, he  made  subservient  to  his  historical  researches. 
"When  on  the  Continent,"  says  one  who  met  him 
there,  "he  was  so  pressed  for  time,  and  so  anxious  to 
get  back  to  his  pastoral  duties  in  Eldinburgh,  that  the 
necessity  he  was  under  of  copying  extracts  (though 
in  this  he  was  aided  by  a  friend)  deprived  him  to  a 
great  degree  of  his  night's  rest,  and  could  not  but 
prove  extremely  injurious  to  his  health."*     When 

*  Christian  Instructor,  October  1835,  p.  672. 


VISIT  TO  HOLLAND.  239 

in  Amsterdam,  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  meet  with 
several  rare  Italian  works  in  the  library  of  the  vene- 
rable M.  Chevalier,  one  of  the  pastors  of  the  French 
church,  "  whose  uncommon  politeness,"  he  says  in 
his  Preface  to  the  Reformation  in  Italy,  "I  have  to 
acknowledge,  in  not  only  allowing  me  the  freest  use 
of  his  books,  but  also  in  transmitting  to  me  a  number 
of  extracts  which  I  had  not  time  to  make  during  my 
short  stay  in  that  city." 

He  was  particularly  fond  of  travelling,  and  it  is 
much  to  be  regretted  that  he  did  not  consider  him- 
self at  liberty  to  indulge  himself  so  often  as  his  friends 
and  his  congregation  would  have  wished,  in  this  spe- 
cies of  healthy  relaxation.  On  such  occasions  he 
enjoyed  a  great  flow  of  spirits,  and  proved  the  most 
entertaining  of  companions.  "Dr.  M'Crie,"  says  the 
writer  formerly  quoted,  "  though  a  stickler  for  the 
Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  was  in  conversation 
perfectly  free  from  bigotry.  He  could  expatiate  on 
all  subjects  with  the  liveliest  freedom,  and  there  was 
an  exquisite  humour  in  many  of  his  remarks  that  was 
finely  piquant  and  highly  amusing.  We  travelled 
together  for  a  short  time  on  the  continent,  and  I  do 
not  rememl)er  the  time  when  1  was  more  entertained 
or  laughed  so  heartily.  One  day  when  examining  a 
Protestant  cathedral,  which  he  seemed  to  admire 
much,  I  recalled  to  his  remembrance  what  he  had 
said  in  his  Life  of  Knox  about  'crows  and  crow- 
nests;'  he  looked  surprised  at  the  seeming  censure 
implied  in  the  remark,  and  assured  me  he  did  not 
wish  to  be  understood  as  expressing  his  own  senti- 
ments on  that  occasion,*  and  that  he  had  no  objection 

*  This  is  so  inconsistent  with  what  we  know  of  Dr.  M'Crie,  that 
the  writer  must  be  supposed,  eitlicr  to  hnve  misunderstood  what 
he  said  in  conversation,  or  to  have  erroneously  supposed  that  the 
sentiments  expressed  in  tlie  Life  of  Knox  are  not  quite  recon- 
cilable with  those  which  he  reports  in  the  following  part  of  the 
sentence.  Dr.  M-Cric  tells  us  that  "Cathedral  and  parochial 
churches,  and,  in  several  places,  the  chapels  attached  to  monas- 
teries were  appropriated  tf)  the  Protestant  worship."  But  in  re- 
gard to  monasteries ,  or  "  those  buildings  which  had  served  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  ancient  superstition,''  he  allows  that  "  there 


240  LIFE  or  DR.  M^CRIE. 

to  these  magnificent  structures  when  not  perverted 
to  the  purposes  of  superstition." 

On  his  return  home  through  England,  he  paid  a 
visit  to  Cambridge,  and  spent  some  time  in  examin- 
ing the  library.  At  Leicester,  he  made  a  point  of 
seeing  the  celebrated  Robert  Hall,  for  whose  genius 
and  writings,  notwithstanding  the  wide  difference  of 
opinion  between  them  on  various  points  of  church 
order,  he  entertained  the  highest  admiration.  The 
two  authors  had  a  cordial  meeting,  and  spent  the 
evening  together  in  animated  conversation,  during 
which  they  discussed  the  merits  of  some  of  the  popu- 
lar writers  and  preachers  of  the  day, —  Mr.  Hall,  as 
usual,  traversing  the  room  all  the  while  and  smoking 
with  great  energy.  Dr.  M'Crie,  in  relating  the  in- 
terview, used  to  describe  the  astonished  look  of  the 
Baptist  minister  when  he  gravely  requested  permis- 
sion to  "hold  communion  with  him,"  and  the  alacrity 
with  which,  on  discovering  the  joke,  he  rang  for 
another  pipe.t 

In  his  occasional  excursions  into  the  country,  he 
frequently  found  himself,  much  to  his  amusement, 
made  the  topic  of  conversation  by  strangers  to  his 
personal  appearance — which,  by  the  way,  seldom 
realized  the  idea  which  people  had  previously  formed 
of  the  author  of  the  Life  of  Knox.  The  following 
anecdote  is  so  characteristic,  that  I  make  no  apology 
for  introducing  it.  "  My  first  meeting  with  Dr. 
M'Crie,"  says  my  informant,:]:  "was  somewhat  singu- 
lar. It  was  in  a  steam-boat  on  the  Clyde  in  1823,  if  I 
mistake  not.  A  reverend-looking  gentleman  asked 
me  some  questions  respecting  places  on  the  banks  of 

is  more  wisdom  than  many  seem  to  perceive  in  tlje  maxim  which 
Knox  is  said  to  have  inculcated,  '  that  the  best  way  to  keep  the 
rooks  ironi  returning,  was  to  pull  down  their  nests.'  " — Life  of 
Knox,  vol.  i.,  pp.  725,  6. 

i  Dr.  M'Crie  was  long  a  slave  to  the  habit  of  smoking,  but 
being  persuaded  that  it  was  injuring  his  health,  he,  about  tlii» 
time,  renounced  it  at  once  and  lor  ever. 

i  Mr.  William  Muir,  schoolmaster  of  Dysart  (_now  presentee  to 
Temple,  Presbytery  of  Dalkeith.) 


ANECDOTE.  241 

the  river,  which  my  familiarity  with  the  scene  enabled 
me  to  answer.  As  we  conversed,!  summoned  courage, 
or  something  worse,  to  ask  him  if  he  was  a  clergyman? 
— he  replied  that  he  was.  I^ike  a  true  Scotchman 
I  pushed  my  inquiry,  remarking  that  he  would  be 
from  England?  The  stranger,  with  a  laugh,  answered, 
*  Ah  no;  not  so  far  south  as  that — I  come  from  Edin- 
burgh.' 'From  Edinburgh?'  I  eagerly  said.  'Do 
3'ou  know,  then,  what  Dr.  M'Crie  is  doing?  We  have 
had  no  work  from  him  for  some  time;  is  he  not  going 
to  write  the  life  of  Alexander  Henderson?'  'I  do 
not  think,'  said  he,  '  that  the  Doctor  is  engaged  in 
any  particular  work  at  present.'  I  then  spoke  of  the 
Doctor's  works,  and  his  ability  to  execute  a  task 
of  that  kind,  in  a  strain  which  I  will  not  now  re- 
peat. I  observed  a  slight  flush  come  on  the  gentle- 
man's face  as  I  spoke;  but  were  I  to  state  the  thought 
that  this  gave  rise  to  in  my  mind,  it  would  be  a  strong 
proof  how  distant  were  my  suspicions  from  the  idea 
that  1  was  conversing  with  the  person  of  whom  I  was 
speaking.  He  interrupted  me  with  the  question, 
'Have  )-ou  ever  seen  Dr.  M'Crie?'  Often  have  I 
wished  that  I  had  answered  this  question  with  more 
caution;  I  might  have  enjoyed,  at  an  earlier  period, 
something  of  his  acquaintance.  I  replied  that  I  had 
several  yeai's  ago  heard  him  preach,  and  that  I  thought 
as  much  of  him  as  a  preacher  as  an  historian.  The 
stranger  here  abruptly  left  me: — the  historian  could 
hear  his  works  praised, — the  minister  could  not. 
Though  introduced  to  him  some  years  after  this,  I 
would  not  have  recognised  my  fellow-passenger,  had 
not  the  Rev.  Dr.  Black,  to  whom  I  owed  the  honour 
of  my  introduction,  told  me  that  Dr.  M'Crie  said  to 
him,  that  he  thought  he  had  once  met  with  me  in  a 
steam-boat  on  the  Clyde." 

In  1822,  Dr.  M'Crie  appeared  before  the  public  in 
another  cause,  which  presented  his  character  in  a 
light  for  which  few  were  prejjared, — we  refer  to  the 
successful  struggles  of  modern  Greece  in  asserting 
her  long-lost  independence.  Noble  as  was  the  spec- 
21 


242  LIFE  OF  DU.  M'CRIE. 

tacle  of  a  whole  nation,  once  so  famous  for  its  litera- 
ture, laws  and  civilization,  rousing  itself  from  the  le- 
thargy of  ages,  and  by  the  strength  of  its  own  unaided 
arm  releasing  itself  from  the  yoke  of  a  barbarous  des- 
potism, it  vvas  long  before  the  public  mind  could  be 
brought  to  feel  an  interest  in  the  cause  of  the  modern 
Greeks.  Exaggeration  and  slander  had  been  busily 
at  work  on  their  character,  representing  them  as  a 
mean,  perfidious  and  degraded  race  of  men,  unfit  for 
and  unworthy  of  the  blessings  of  freedom.  At  length 
the  sympathy  which  their  patriotism  had  failed  to 
awaken,  was  excited  by  the  report  of  their  sufferings. 
A  public  meeting  was  called  and  held  in  Merchants' 
Hall,  August  7,  1822,  to  promote  a  subscription  for 
the  miserable  natives  of  the  Island  of  Scio.  At  this 
meeting  Dr.  M'Crie  took  the  lead  by  proposing  a 
series  of  resolutions  in  a  speech,  the  impression  of 
which  is  still  remembered  by  those  who  heard  it, 
and  the  publication  of  which  in  the  newspapers  ex- 
cited a  lively  interest  in  the  cause  throughout  the 
country.* 

This,  as  he  informed  his  audience,  was  only  the 
third  time,  during  a  residence  of  twenty-six  years, 
that  he  had  addressed  a  public  meeting;  and  the  rare- 
ness with  which  he  obtruded  himself  on  public  notice 
no  doubt  contributed  to  the  effect  of  his  appearance 
on  this  occasion.  It  is  not  difficult  to  account  for  the 
interest  which  he  took  in  the  cause  of  the  patriotic 
Greeks.  Classic  associations  might  have  had  their 
share  in  it,  but  the  general  apathy  shown  in  the  Greek 

*Tlie  speech  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix.  "  A  meeting, — 
and  a  most  respectable  meeting,  has  at  length  been  held,  to  pro- 
mote a  subscription  for  the  relief  of  the  persecuted,  enslaved,  and 
miserable  Greeks  of  the  Island  of  Scio;  and  tardy  as  we  have  been 
in  Edinburgh,  we  have  yet  the  merit  of  being  the  first  who  have 
moved  in  such  a  good  cause.  The  historian  of  our  own  Scottish 
struggles  for  religious  and  civil  liberty  was  of  all  others  the  person 
who  could  most  ajipropriately  take  the  lead  on  such  an  occasion; 
and  through  him,  and  with  him,  our  fellow-citizens  have  removed 
from  themselves  tiie  reproach  of  an  apathy,  almost  as  unaccount- 
able as  it  is  unparalleled,  to  the  higher  interests  of  the  human 
race." — Scotsman,  Aug.  10,  \ii22. 


THE  GREEK  CAUSE.  243 

cause  by  the  literati  of  the  age,  and  which  met  with 
his  severe  reprehension,  proves  how  little  affinity 
mere  scholarship  has  witli  the  generous  impulses  of 
patriotism  and  philanthropy.  Along  with  this  there 
was  combined,  in  his  case,  ardent  zeal  for  the  cause 
of  true  religion,  the  success  of  which  he  always  as- 
sociated with  the  triumph  of  liberty  and  the  progress 
of  education;  and  this,  it  appears,  led  him  to  antici- 
pate much  more  from  those  great  national  movements 
by  which  a  whole  people  are  shaken  from  their  slum- 
bers, and  roused  to  inquire  for  themselves,  provided 
these  are  met  in  a  suitable  manner  by  a  sympathizing 
movement  on  the  part  of  Christian  and  Protestant 
States,  than  from  isolated  exotic  missionary  opera- 
tions, which  must  necessarily  be  confined  within  a 
limited  sphere,  and  which,  according  to  the  most  flat- 
tering calculations  of  their  supporters,  will  require 
whole  ages  to  accomplish  their  object.*  After  all,  the 
mere  fact  that  the  Greeks  were  struggling  to  get  free 
from  the  degrading  thraldom  of  a  despotic  and  barba- 
rous government,  was  sufficient  to  enlist  all  his  sym- 
pathies on  their  side;  for  in  his  mind  there  burned, 
not  merely  the  love  of  liberty,  which  is  natural  and 
common  enough  among  men,  but  an  intense  and  con- 
scientious abhorrenceof  oppression,  which  would  have 
made  him  shrink  from  enacting  the  baseness  of  the 
tyrant,  with  even  a  greater  degree  of  sensitiveness, 
than  from  enduring  the  degradation  of  the  slave.     In 

*  The  reader  who  may  wish  farther  satisfaction  with  regard 
to  our  author's  sentiments  on  this  point,  may  consult  his  Review 
of  "  Sismondi's  Considerations  on  Geneva,"  in  the  Christian 
Instructor,  in  whicli  he  touches,  though  we  regret  rather  gene- 
rally, on  "the  relations  whicli  bind  Protestant  States  to  one 
another."  In  this  review,  which  was  written  in  1813,  speaking 
of  "the  Protestant  interest,"  in  opposition  to  the  Popish,  and 
after  declaring  his  belief  that  they  "  will  yet  separate  and  display 
themselves,  as  soon  as  tilings  return  to  their  ordinary  course;" 
he  says,  "  Without  pretending  to  any  superior  sagacity,  or  ex- 
posing ourselves  to  the  charge  of  indulging  in  political  prophecy, 
we  may  add  that  events  may  take  place,  at  no  distant  period,  by 
which  tile  principle  which  we  have  endeavoured  to  establish, 
will  be  set  in  a  practical,  and,  consequently,  in  a  more  clear  and 
convincing  light." 


244  LIFE   OF  DR.    M'CRIE. 

illustration  of  this  part  of  his  character,  I  may  here 
introduce  a  fragment  found  among  his  manuscripts:* 
— "Who  would  be  a  slave!  is  the  exclamation  of  those 
who  are  themselves  free,  and  sometimes  of  those 
who,  provided  they  enjoy  freedom  themselves,  care 
not  though  the  whole  world  were  in  bondage.  But 
there  is  a  sentiment  still  more  noble  than  that.  Who 
would  be  a  slave-dealer,  a  patron,  an  advocate  for 
slavery!  To  be  a  slave  has  been  the  hard,  but  not 
dishonourable  lot  of  many  a  good  man  and  noble  spirit. 
But  to  be  a  tyrant — that  is  disgrace!  To  trample  on 
the  rights  of  his  fellow  creature — to  treat  him,  whe- 
ther it  be  with  cruelty  or  kindness,  as  a  dog — to  hold 
him  in  chains,  when  he  has  perpetrated  or  threatens 
no  violence — to  carry  him  with  a  rope  about  his 
neck,  not  to  the  scaffold,  but  to  the  market — to  sell 
him  whom  God  made  after  his  own  image,  and  whom 
Christ  redeemed  not  with  corruptible  things  as  silver 
and  gold,  and  by  the  act  of  transference,  to  tear  him 
from  his  own  bowels — that  is  disgraceful.  I  protest 
before  you  that  I  would  a  thousand  times  rather  have 
my  brow  branded  with  the  name  of  Slave,  than  have 
written  on  the  palm  of  my  hand,  or  the  sole  of  my 
foot,  the  initial  letter  of  the  word — Tyrant." 

With  a  zeal  which  redounded  highly  to  their  credit, 
the  ladies  of  Edinburgh  took  an  active  interest  in  this 
cause,  directing  their  exertions,  most  appropriately,  to 
the  education  of  the  long-neglected  females  of  Greece, 

To  this  scheme  our  author  gave  his  warmest  sup- 
port; he  preached  in  its  behalf,  conducted  the  corre- 
spondence, and  at  a  meeting  called  with  the  vievv  of 
forming  a  "Scottish  Ladies'  Society  for  promoting 
education  in  Greece,"  April  9,  1825,  he  again  ap- 
peared to  plead  the  cause  of  the  Greeks.  The  sub- 
stance of  his  address  on  this  occasion  will  be  found 
in  the  Appendix;  and  I  am  happy  to  escape  the  ne- 

*  This  fragment,  I  believe,  is  part  of  a  speech  which  he  had 
prepared  for  an  anti-slavery  meeting  in  October  1830,  but  which 
he  was  prevented  from  delivering  by  an  unexpected  turn  given 
to  the  proceedings  by  his  friend  Dr.  Thomson. 


THE  GREEK  CAUSE.  245 

cessity  of  adding;  any  comment  of  my  own,  by  tran- 
scribing the  following  account  of  it,  which,  though 
evidently  drawn  by  a  partial  pen,  is,  I  have  reason 
to  believe,  substantially  correct:  "  Some  eight  or  ten 
years  ago,  when  Sir  James  Macintosh  happened  to 
be  in  Edinburgh,  a  number  of  philanthropic  ladies 
in  that  city  endeavoured  very  successfully,  we  believe, 
to  get  up  a  public  meeting,  for  the  purpose  of  esta- 
blishing a  society  to  promote  female  education  in 
Greece.  Of  course,  the  claims  of  Greece,  and  the 
object  of  the  society,  behooved  to  be  advocated  from 
the  platform.  Sir  James  Macintosh,  if  we  recollect 
right,  had  agreed  to  take  the  chair;  and  in  canvass- 
ing for  speakers  on  the  occasion,  Dr.  M'Crie  was 
applied  to  among  others  by  the  ladies  of  the  com- 
mittee. 'Doctor,' said  our  fair  and  excellent  infor- 
mant, ^  we  are  anticipating  great  things  at  our  ap- 
proaching meeting.  We  have  endeavoured  to  select 
our  speakers  as  judiciously  as  possible  for  the  sake 
of  the  cause.  For  all  we  require  in  the  way  of  ar- 
gument we  depend  upon  you:  and  for  the  classical 
recollections  of  Greece,  and  the  appeals  of  eloquence, 
we  look  with  confidence  to  Sir  James.'  The  Doctor 
appeared  embarrassed  at  the  inadvertent  and  unin- 
tentional way  in  which  the  lady  had  put  him  into 
contrast  with  the  overrated  senator;  but,  though  she 
thought  he  seemed  a  little  piqued,*  he  acceded  to 
the  ladies'  request,  civilly  bowed  to  them,  and  they 
retired.  By-and-by  came  the  appointed  meeting, 
when,  to  the  astonishment  and  delight  of  every  au- 
ditor, an  address  was  delivered  by  Dr.  M-Crie,  which, 
while  admirably  adapted  to  promote  the  popu- 
larity of  the  cause,  seemed  almost  to  be  intended, 
with  an  innocent  vindictiveness,  to  rebuke  the  pre- 

*  "  He  seemed  a  little  piqued."  The  lad}',  I  am  disposed  to 
think,  misinterpreted  the  expression  of  his  feehngs  on  this 
occasion,  as  much  as  she  had  miscalculated  his  powers.  The 
embarrassment  which  she  remarked  no  doubt  arose  from  the 
same  cause  that  makes  a  man  of  delicacy  and  acutencss  feci  the 
blunders  which  he  hears,  somewhat  as  if  he  had  made  them 
himself. 

31* 


246  LIFE  OF  DR.  m'CRIE. 

concerted  anticipations  of  the  ladies  as  to  the  peculiar 
forte  of  its  several  supporters.  Distinguished  through- 
out by  the  most  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  poli- 
tics, philosophy,  mythology  and  poetry  of  ancient 
Greece,  it  commingled  with  the  happiest  allusions  to 
these,  so  fervid  a  contrast  of  her  ancient  glory  with 
her  modern  degradation,  that,  new  and  foreign  as  such 
topics  were  thought  to  be  to  the  habits  of  the  good 
Doctor,  he  reminded  many  of  his  hearers  of  the  finest 
speeches  of  Burke.  The  deductions  of  reason,  the 
eloquence  of  passion,  and  the  yearnings  of  the  Chris- 
tian, shone  equally  conspicuous.  A  more  splendid 
out-pouring  has  seldom  been  listened  to."* 

A  somewhat  different  misconception  of  the  Doctor's 
character,  and  of  the  nature  of  his  interest  in  this 
cause,  led  to  a  more  ludicrous  application  for  his 
assistance;  for,  some  time  afterward,  he  was  one 
morning,  much  to  our  amusement,  astounded  by 
receiving  a  letter  from  some  of  the  friends  of  the 
Greeks  in  Germany,  earnestly  requesting  him  to 
forward  them,  for  the  good  of  the  cause,  a  supply  of 
Congreve  rockets! 

From  1823  to  1826,  Dr.  M'Crie's  health  continued 
in  such  a  precarious  and  unsatisfactory  state,  that  he 
was  obliged  to  suspend,  almost  entirely,  his  literary 
labours.  In  August  1824,  I  find  him  complaining, 
"My  time  is  chiefly  passed  between  fits  of  perspira- 
tion, and  cold  or  rather  half-cold  shiverings.  The 
work  of  the  Sabbath  is  oppressive,  and  I  don't  think 
I  can  stand  public  duty  long.  I  am  unable,  too, 
to  prepare  for  it.  My  friends  are  urging  me  to  de- 
sist for  some  weeks,  and  try  the  efl'ects  of  relaxa- 
tion. But  how  can  I  obtain  this?  I  am  sometimes 
tempted  to  wish  that  I  might  fall  down  altogether, 
that  I  might  obtain  7'est — if  that  were  to  happen,  'tis 
likely  my  wishes  would  be  reversed."  The  wise  and 
merciful  purposes  of  God  in  afflicting  his  children, 
generally  so  mysterious,  may  be  often  seen  developed 

*  The  Thistle,  or  Anglo-Caledonian  Journal,  No.  U.,  Feb.  1S3C. 
London, 


HIS  CHARACTER  AS  A  PREACHER.  247 

with  singular  clearness  in  the  case  of  those  personal 
trials  which  befall  the  public  servants  of  Christ.  It 
was  enninently  so  with  our  author.  His  bodily  infir- 
mities, depressing  as  they  were,  taken  in  connexion 
with  his  domestic  bereavement,  to  which  was  added 
the  death  of  his  father  in  March  1823,  which  made 
a  deep  impression  on  his  mind,  were,  there  is  reason 
to  think,  the  means  of  turning  his  attention  more 
exclusively  to  the  proper  duties  of  his  profession,  and 
imparting  to  his  Sabbath  discourses  a  deeper  unction 
of  that  rich  and  varied  experience,  which  formed 
their  chief  attraction.  As  a  lecturer,  or  expounder 
of  the  sacred  writings,  he  had  always  been  admired 
by  the  judicious;  hut  while  engaged  in  the  compo- 
sition of  his  larger  works,  his  mind  and  time  were 
too  much  engrossed  by  historical  researches  to  admit 
of  his  devoting  them  so  closely  as  he  desired  to 
pulpit  composition.  In  consequence  of  this,  he  had 
acquired  a  somewhat  monotonous  habit  of  delivery, 
which  did  not  set  off  what  he  had  prepared  to  the 
best  advantage.  And  yet,  by  the  native  force  of  his 
mind,  he  ultimately  rose  so  far  above  these  disadvan- 
tages, as  to  enjoy  a  considerable  share  of  popularity. 
"Dr.  M'Crie's  style  of  preaching,"  says  a  critic  of 
1818,  "is  like  none  of  the  present  day,  and  yet  it  is 
captivating:  it  excites  no  high  emotion,  and  yet  it  is 
enticing;  it  is  pervaded  with  none  of  that  boisterous 
ejaculation  now  so  common,  and  yet  it  is  calculated  to 
improve.  It  is  set  off  with  no  outward  graces  of  ap- 
pearance, and  no  varied  power  of  external  eloquence, 
and  yet  his  scriptural  discourses  are  admirable.  It 
is  the  matter  which  is  brought  forth,  not  the  manner 
in  which  it  is  uttered,  which  in  this  instance  calls 
attention — it  is  for  the  information  which  is  received, 
not  the  fancy  entranced,  that  his  church  is  now  filled. 
Dr.  M'Crie's  delivery  is  slow, uninviting,  monotonous, 
never  roused  to  what  is  called  eloquence,  even  when 
the  preacher  himself  is  warmed  witli  the  subject  he 
discusses.  But  to  make  amends  for  this,  his  intellect 
is  strong,  his  reasonings  solid,  his  advices  are  from 


248  LIFE   OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

the  heart,  and  his  book  of  reference  is   the   Scrip- 
tures."* 

The  following  comes  from  a  more  graphic  pen,  and 
though  somewhat  overdrawn,  must  be  allowed  to  pre- 
sent a  more  vivid  picture  of  his  appearance  in  the 
pulpit  about  this  period.  "I  went  to  hear  Dr.  M'Crie 
preach,  and  was  not  disappointed  in  the  expectations 
I  had  formed  from  a  perusal  of  his  book.  He  is  a 
tall  slender  man,  with  a  pale  face,  full  of  shrewdness, 
and  a  pair  of  black  piercing  eyes — a  shade  of  deep  se- 
cluded melancholy  passing  ever  and  anon  across  their 
surface,  and  dimming  their  brilliancy.  His  voice,  too, 
has  a  wild  but  very  impressive  shrilliness  in  it  at  times. 
He  prays  and  preaches  very  much  in  the  usual  style 
of  the  Presbyterian  divines — but  about  all  he  says 
there  is  a  certain  unction  of  sincere,  old-fashioned, 
haughty  Puritanism,  peculiar,  so  far  as  I  have  seen, 
to  himself,  and  by  no  means  displeasing  in  the  histo- 
rian of  Knox.  He  speaks,  too,  with  an  air  of  autho- 
rity, which  his  high  talents  render  excusable,  nay, 
proper — but  which  few  could  venture  upon  with 
equal  success."! 

The  next  sketch,  drawn  by  a  highly  respected  cleri- 
cal friend,!  in  a  private  communication,  and  without 
any  view  to  its  being  made  public,  exhibits  Dr.  M'Crie, 
as  he  appeared  in  the  pulpit,  at  a  much  later  period 
of  his  life.  "When  well  prepared,  and  on  a  conge- 
nial theme,  he  rose  to  very  great  eloquence,  as  any 
one  may  conceive  who  looks  into  the  volume  of  his 
discourses  which  was  published  under  your  eye  some 
years  ago.  His  manner  at  first  was  somewhat  con- 
strained— the  effect  probably  of  native  diffidence, 
heightened  by  an  habitual  reference  to  a  high  standard 
of  excellence.  As  he  proceeded,  this  in  a  great  mea- 
sure wore  off;  and  in  certain  passages  where  he  was 
deeply  moved  himself,  he  had  the  complete  mastery 

*  The  Pulpit  Eloquence  of  Edinburgh,  in  the  Portfolio,  a 
weekly  paper  on  Criticism  and  Manners.     Edin.  1818. 

t  Peter's  Letters  to  his  Kinsfolk,  vol.  iii.,  p.  102.     Edin.  1819. 
t  Dr.  Charles  Watson,  late  minister  of  Burntisland. 


HIS  CHARACTER  AS  A  PREACHER.  249 

of  his  audience.  A  certain  tone  of  simplicity,  con- 
trasting strongly  witii  the  sagacity  and  depth  of  his 
reflections,  gave  a  delightful  charm  to  his  eloquence, 
relieving  its  nobler  and  more  imposing  features,  and 
imparting  to  the  wisdom  that  accompanied  it,  much 
of  the  eflect  of  unexpectedness  and  novelty.  A 
stranger  might  for  a  time  have  mistaken  him  in  the 
pulpit  for  one  of  those  simple  good  men,  whose  worth 
forms  their  chief  qualification  for  usefulness.  Little 
by  little,  however,  the  stream  of  thought  widened 
and  flowed  with  an  accelerated  current,  and  flashes 
of  fancy  and  eddies  of  feeling  might  be  seen  on  its 
surface,  enough  to  disturb  the  first  impression, — till 
it  was  entirely  lost  in  admiration  at  some  affecting 
stroke  of  pathos,  or  some  bold  burst  of  expostulation 
or  entreaty,  after  the  highest  models  of  a  school  whose 
date  is  to  be  sought  a  century  or  two  back,  but  which 
is  too  true  to  nature  ever  to  wax  obsolete  or  lose  its 
charm." 

These  extracts  refer  exclusively  to  his  manner  as 
a  preacher;  there  is  another  point  of  view,  in  which 
he  might  have  been  described,  infinitely  more  impor- 
tant, and  involving  what  he  himself  regarded  as  the 
highest  praise  of  a  Christian  pastor — his  success  in 
the  winning  of  souls,  and  in  promoting  the  spiritual 
peace  and  profit  of  his  hearers,  on  which  I  would 
more  willingly  dilate.  In  the  general  strain  of  his 
preaching,  I  would  say  that  he  addressed  himself 
more  directly  to  the  edification  and  comfort  of  the 
Iieliever,  than  to  the  conversion  of  the  unbeliever, — 
dwelling  more  on  the  allurements  of  the  love  of  God, 
than  on  the  terrors  of  his  law.  But  his  art  seemed 
to  lie  in  reaching  conviction  to  the  sinner,  while  ap- 
parently engaged  in  ministering  consolation  to  the 
child  of  God.  Without  looking  the  skeptic  in  the 
face,  or  professing  to  reason  with  him,  he  spoke  to 
the  humble  and  simple  Christian  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  convey  the  severest  of  all  rebukes  to  the 
man  of  opposite  character.  Preaching,  as  he  did, 
from  the  promptings  of  his  own  heart-experience,  as 


250  LIFE  OF  DR.  MCRIE. 

well  as  from  his  general  knowledge  of  human  nature, 
his  discourses  found  a  response  in  the  breasts  of  many 
of  his  hearers,  and  frequently  produced  that  searching 
and  startling  efi'ect  which,  to  the  awakened  mind, 
conveys  the  idea  that  the  preacher  is  acquainted  with 
the  whole  history  of  the  person's  exercise,  and  has 
purposely  adapted  the  message  of  the  day  to  his  par- 
ticular case.  Many,  there  is  reason  to  believe,  were 
brought  under  serious  impressions,  led  to  the  Saviour, 
and  "guided  into  the  way  of  peace,"  by  waiting  on  his 
ministry;  these  results  being  obtained,  in  most  cases, 
not  by  any  single  discourse,  but  by  the  general  strain 
of  his  preaching,  particularly  by  the  free  unfettered 
exhibition  of  the  grace  of  God  in  the  Gospel,  con- 
trasted with  the  vileness  and  ingratitude  of  the  sin- 
ner. Testimonials  to  the  truth  of  this  might  easily 
have  been  obtained  in  abundance.  The  following 
spontaneous  effusion  of  gratitude  may  stand  in  place 
of  a  thousand;  for  it  expresses,  I  am  persuaded,  the 
sentiments  and  feelings  of  all  who  enjoyed  his  minis- 
try:— 

"I  can  say,  with  gratitude,  that  I  received  much 
spiritual  benefit  from  his  clear  elucidation  of  the 
Scriptures.  And  though  I  had,  for  many  years  pre- 
vious to  sitting  under  his  ministry,  been  awakened 
to  anxiety  about  the  safety  of  my  soul,  and  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  way  of  Salvation;  it  was  through  his 
instrumentality  that  I  obtained  peace  in  believing. 
His  preaching  was  indeed  the  searching  of  the  heart 
by  the  word  of  God,  and  a  clear  setting  forth  of 
Christ  as  the  only  way  of  salvation,  the  only  rock  on 
which  a  sinner  can  build,  the  only  hope  of  a  lost  and 
ruined  soul.  And,  in  saying  this,  I  do  not  express 
merely  my  own  experienceof  his  public  teaching,  but 
that  also  of  many  of  my  friends  and  acquaintances 
who  were  in  the  habit  of  hearing  him  frequently,  and 
who  resorted  to  his  church  for  no  other  motive  than 
to  have  their  souls  fed  and  nourished  by  the  word  of 
life.  I  felt  his  preaching  well  calculated  to  drive 
from  every  strong-hold  of  sin,  and  I  do  think,  I  can  say 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  HIS  PREACHING.  251 

that  under  him,  the  j)Ower  of  sin  was  weakened  in  my 
soul,  and  a  stronger  desire  after  divine  things  en- 
kindled. I  felt  bound  to  him,  not  only  by  his  use- 
fulness in  public,  but  by  his  faithful  admonitions  in 
private.  There  also  he  carried  the  spirit  of  a  heaven- 
ly guide,  and  what  he  saw  to  be  wrong  was  pointed 
out  with  affectionate  faithfulness.  The  good  of  souls 
was  his  aim  in  public  and  in  private.  Many  a  time, 
when  under  severe  affliction,  did  my  weary  soul  find 
the  word  of  peace  from  his  lips,  and  the  heavy  load  of 
sin  removed  by  his  leading  me  to  the  cross  of  Christ." 
The  peculiar  temperament  of  a  preacher  may  be 
ascertained,  with  considerable  accuracy,  from  those 
Scripture  characters  on  whom  he  chiefly  delights  to 
dwell,  and  to  whose  sentiments  he  is  disposed  to  re- 
cur, for  authority  or  illustration,  with  the  most  mani- 
fest partiality.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Dr. 
M'Crie's  favourite  characters  (if  I  may  be  allowed 
the  expression)  were  Jeremiah  among  the  prophets, 
and  Paul  among  the  apostles.  In  the  earlier  part  of 
his  ministry,  he  lectured  through  the  Prophecies  and 
the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah;  and  all  who  were  in 
the  habit  of  hearing  him,  and  are  familiar  with  his 
writings,  must  have  observed  the  frequency  of  his 
allusions  to  the  language,  and  the  general  similarity 
of  his  tone  of  sentiment  to  that  of  "the  weeping 
prophet."  We  discover  the  same  plaintive  melan- 
choly pervading  his  reflections  on  the  signs  of  the 
times, — the  same  severe,  and  at  times  sarcastic,  in- 
dignation at  human  treachery  and  worthlessness, — 
the  same  deferential  submission  to  the  righteous 
awards  of  an  avenging  Providence.  He  was  partial, 
indeed,  to  the  study  of  the  Old  Testament  as  a 
whole;  he  wrote  much  in  illustration  of  its  text,  and 
in  vindication  of  its  authority  as  a  standing  rule  of 
Christian  conduct;  his  library  was  stored  with  com- 
mentators on  it;  and  he  lectured  through  the  greater 
part  of  its  books.  His  lectures  on  its  historical  por- 
tions— the  books  of  Kings,  Ezra,  Nehemiah,  Esther 
and  Daniel — which  were  begun  in  1825 — excited  gene- 


253  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

ral  attention,  and  attracted  numbers,  of  all  denomina- 
tions, to  his  church.  In  illustrating  these  sacred 
records,  his  talent  for  historical  description  shone 
conspicuous;  and  many  remember  with  delight  his 
lively  pictures,  his  bursts  of  genuine  passion,  and 
his  striking  lessons  of  practical  wisdom,  while  he 
traced,  with  a  kindred  spirit,  the  history  of  the 
sublime  heroism  of  Elijah,  the  patriotism  of  Nehe- 
miah,  or  the  piety  of  Daniel.* 

I  may  here  mention  another  stud}',  intimately  con- 
nected with  his  province  as  an  expositor,  in  which 
he  took  great  delight,  and  in  which,  had  his  time 
permitted,  he  bid  fair  to  have  excelled — Biblical  Cri- 
ticism. Familiarly  acquainted  with  the  most  learned 
philological  and  critical  writers,  both  at  home  and 
abroad,  he  had  devoted  himself  to  the  practical  de- 
partment of  the  study  to  such  an  extent,  that  it  was 
hardly  possible  to  start  a  real  difficulty  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  Scripture  for  which  he  was  not  prepared; 
and,  at  one  time,  he  had  prosecuted  his  researches 
into  hermeneutics,  or  the  science  of  interpretation, 
so  far  as  to  contemplate  a  work  on  the  subject. 
Speaking  of  Ernesti  to  one  of  his  correspondents,  he 
says, — "Although  not  a  work  which  I  could  recom- 
mend in  all  its  parts,  especially  in  the  notes  added 
by  Amnion,  it  is  one  of  those  books  which  I  like  to 
have  beside  me  for  occasional  consultation.  Besides, 
if  I  fail  in  persuading  you,  or  any  other  able  person, 
to  undertake  the  task,  I  am  not  altogether  without 
thoughts  of  attempting  something  myself  towards  an 
English  work  of  a  similar  description,  which  I  still 

*  I  have  given  the  public  a  specimen  of  these  lectures,  in  those 
upon  the  book  of  Esther.  The  manuscripts  of  his  other  lectures 
are  left,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  in  a  state  too  imj)erfect  for  publication 
— at  least  in  the  form  of  a  regular  series  on  any  book,  or  even 
extended  portion  of  history.  To  publish  them  as  they  stand, 
would  neither  do  justice  to  his  memory,  nor  give  satisfaction  to 
the  reader,  who  would  want  some  of  the  richest  thoughts  which 
gave  them  animation  in  the  delivery,  but  which  were  left  to  be 
clothed  in  language  premeditated  in  the  closet  or  suggested  in 
the  pulpit.  The  same  remark  applies  to  his  Lectures  on  the 
Gospel  by  Luke.     All  his  other  lectures  have  been  destroyed. 


BIBLICAL  CRITICISM.  253 

think  a  grand  desideratum.  This,  however,  I  mean 
to  do  gradually.  I  may  afterwards  prevail  on  some 
individual  to  take  my  materials  off  m3'^  hand  and  to 
finish  the  design.  This  notification  may  perhaps 
alarm  you  (1  am  sure  it  ovglit  to  alarm  you)  for  the 
credit  of  this  important  branch  of  biblical  criticism. 
Only  think,  1  beseech  you,  what  must  be  the  conse- 
quences, if  one  whose  thoughts  have  been  so  long 
occupied  with  inquiriesso  very  different,  whose  time 
is  broken  by  so  many  engagements  and  interruptions, 
and  who  has  only  touched  the  extensive  task  primulis 
labelluUs, — if  he  shall  take  it  up  in  despair,  and  dis- 
grace at  once  himself  and  the  subject!  In  spite, 
however,  of  all  the  sage  laws  of  quid  valeant  Jiumeri, 
&c.,  1  am  afraid  that  he  will  do  it,  unless  you  inter- 
pose." He  accordingly  commenced  a  translation  of 
Ernesti,  to  which,  I  suppose,  he  had  intended  to  add 
notes;  but  he  never  found  time  to  digest  his  thoughts 
into  the  form  of  a  work.  In  1S14,  he  exerted  him- 
self to  form  a  society  composed  of  ministers  of  vari- 
ous denominations,  for  mutual  improvement  in  this 
department  of  theological  learning;  and  for  procuring 
rare  and  costly  works  on  the  subject.  A  library  was 
established,  which  still  exists,  though,  I  am  sorry  to 
add,  in  a  very  neglected  and  languishing  condition. 
Its  fate  illustrates  the  situation  of  town  ministers  in 
regard  to  study.  Dr.  M'Crie,  to  whom  the  charge 
of  the  library  was  for  some  time  committed,  used  to 
observe,  that  after  the  public  movements  in  mission- 
ary and  other  associations  of  a  similar  kind  were  in- 
troduced, scarcely  a  book  was  called  for  b}-  a  minister, 
their  time  being  occupied  and  their  attention  engaged 
by  other  matters.  The  study,  however,  soon  became 
a  favourite  one  with  himself;  and  had  he  adhered  to 
it,  there  is  reason  to  think  that  his  powers  of  re- 
search and  application,  with  his  sagacity  and  discern- 
ment, would  have  conducted  him  to  no  inconsiderable 
eminence  and  usefulness  as  a  sacred  critic.  A  liberal 
offer  was  made  to  him  by  the  Edinburgh  ministers  to 
give  a  series  of  lectures  on  biblical  criticism  and  sub- 


254  LIFE  OF  DR.  M^CRIE. 

jects  connected  with  it.  Emolument,  however,  had 
never  any  power  of  temptation  with  him,  and  his  mind 
cUmg  to  the  line  of  study  and  authorship  with  which 
he  had  set  out.  The  society  soon  fell  otJ",  hut  not  be- 
fore our  author  had  read  to  them  several  essays  (the 
only  ones,  we  believe,  that  were  ever  produced  before 
them,)  of  which  the  surviving  members  still  speak  in 
high  terms.  The  topics  of  these  essays  were — "  The 
Necessity  and  Advantages  of  Biblical  Interpretation," 
— "  The  Types  of  Scripture," — and  "  The  Revival  of 
Oriental  Literature.'^  In  1835,  he  threw  the  sub- 
.stance  of  the  first  of  these  essays  into  the  form  of  an 
article  on  Biblical  Interpretation  in  the  March  number 
of  the  Presbyterian  Review.  These  Essays,  together 
with  an  important,  though  unfinished,  paper  on  the 
Validity  of  Old  Testament  Instruction,  and  other 
fugitive  pieces  of  criticism,  may  be  afterwards  pub- 
lished. 

The  following;  communication  from  Sir  George 
Sinclair,  on  the  subject  of  union  with  the  Established 
Church  (which  recent  events  have  rendered  an  in- 
teresting topic,)  formed  the  commencement  of  a  cor- 
respondence and  friendship  with  that  amiable  and 
truly  excellent  person,  highly  gratifying  to  both  par- 
ties, and  which  continued  till  our  author's  death. 

"  To  the  Rev.  Dr.  M'Crie. 

"  Thuuso  Castle,  March  10,  1824. 
"  Reverend  Sir. — You  may  perhaps  deem  it  ex- 
traordinary that  a  stranger  should  use  the  freedom  to 
address  3^ou.  But  your  character,  talents  and  useful- 
ness, are  known  and  admired  by  many  who  do  not 
.  enjoy  the  advantage  of  your  personal  acquaintance, — 
and  your  triumphant  vindication  of  our  great  national 
Reformer's  character,  will  endear  your  name  to  suc- 
ceeding generations  of  your  countrymen,  as  well  as 
to  those  of  the  present  day.  Having  imbibed  from 
my  father  (the  author  of  the  Statistical  Account  of 
Scotland)  a  sincere  and  cordial  attachment  to  our 
national  church,  I  have  often  contemplated  with  deep. 


UNION  WITH  THE  ESTABLISHMENT.  255 

regret  the  lamentable  schisms  by  which  her  peace  and 
unity  have  been  rent;  and  it  is  a  subject  to  me  of 
surprise,  as  well  as  of  sorrow,  that  no  endeavours 
have  (as  far  as  I  know)  been  lately  made,  to  heal  the 
breaches  in  our  Zion,  and  cause  us  to  be  '  of  one 
accord,  and  of  one  mind.'  I  cannot  but  think,  that 
the  present  would  be  a  favourable  moment  for  trying 
the  experiment.  So  many  years  have  now  elapsed, 
since  the  original  separation  of  the  Secession  from 
the  Established  Church,  and  so  many  of  the  contro- 
verted points  have,  in  some  degree  been,  or  might 
now  more  easily  be,  set  at  rest,  and  the  pure  doc- 
trines of  the  Gospel  are  so  much  more  generally 
preached  than  when  the  unfortunate  division  took 
place,  that  a  door  seems  now  to  be  opened  for  the 
auspicious  restoration  of  harmony  and  peace.  Now, 
my  dear  Sir,  (you  will  pardon  the  familiarity  of  the 
phrase) — it  appears  to  me,  that  you,  who  are  a  '  burn- 
ing and  shining  light'  in  the  Presbyterian  commu- 
nion, might  very  beneficially  use  your  influence,  and 
lend  your  aid,  for  effecting  this  important  purpose. 
As  some  difficulty  would  probably  arise  in  endea- 
vouring to  determine  from  what  quarter  the  first 
overture  should  proceed,  I  would  humbly  and  difii- 
dently  suggest,  that  meetings  should  be  held,  or  a 
correspondence  take  place,  for  considering  this  sub- 
ject, between  yourself,  assisted  by  one  of  your  breth- 
ren, with  the  same  number  of  ministers  of  the  Estab- 
lished Church,  and  also  of  the  other  denominations 
into  which  the  Secession  has,  perhaps  unnecessarily 
as  well  as  unfortunately,  been  subdivided.  Should 
the  unauthorized  '  labour  of  love'  undertaken  by  such 
a  committee,  lead  to  no  favourable  result,  the  public 
attention  need  never  be  called  to  its  details,  or  even 
to  its  existence.  But  if  such  a  basis  could,  through 
the  blessing  of  God,  and  the  direction  of  his  Spirit, 
be  devised,  as  might  lead  to  all  parties  being  spiri- 
tually of  one  Iieart  and  of  one  soul,  and  none  saying 
that  aught  of  the  things  which  he  possessed  was  his 
own, '  but  they  had  all  things  common  ' — one  faiih, 


256  LIFE   OF  DR.   M^CRIE. 

and  one  baptism,  one  creed  and  one  discipline — the 
whole  proceedings  might  be  laid  before  the  different 
Synods  and  General  Assemblies,  for  their  modifica- 
tion and  approval.  In  this  case,  the  Secession  places 
of  worship,  wherever  tbey  now  exist,  might  become 
connected  with  the  Established  Church.  We  should 
then  see  labourers  in  the  Lord's  vineyard,  who  now 
view  each  other  with  jealousy  and  estrangement,  co- 
operating with  heart  and  hand  in  winning  souls  to 
Christ. 

"  Alas!  is  it  not  painful  to  reflect  that  many  who 
'  love  the  Lord  Jesus  in  sincerity  '  feel  no  kindly  fel- 
lowship and  love  towards  each  other — that  not  a  few 
would  rather  debar  themselves  for  months,  or  even 
years,  from  the  privilege  of  public  worship,  than  hear 
the  Gospel  preached  in  simplicity  and  faithfulness  by 
a  minister  of  a  different  denomination  from  their  own 
— although  I  believe  that  a  stranger  might  for  twelve 
succeeding  Sabbaths,  hear  yourself  every  morning, 
Dr.  A.  Thomson  every  afternoon,  and  Mr.  Paxton  at 
night,  without  being  able  to  discover  any  difference 
in  your  doctrine  or  form  of  worship.  If  the  labours 
of  such  a  committee  as  1  have  ventured  to  recom- 
mend, were  to  commence  by  the  adoption  of  a  pre- 
liminary synopsis  of  the  principles  on  which  all  are 
agreed,  I  would  fain  hope  that  the  points  of  difference 
which  are  of  far  inferior  moment  and  magnitude 
miglit,  by  a  Christian  spirit  of  forbearance  and  charity, 
be  adjusted. 

"  1  need  not,  I  am  persuaded,  offer  any  apology  for 
addressing  you  on  this  subject.  I  have,  and  indeed 
can  have  but  one  motive,  which,  I  trust,- will  plead 
my  excuse,  if  my  suggestion  be  ill-timed  or  ill-ad- 
vised. I  remain,  with  much  esteem,  and  every  good 
wish,  Reverend  Sir,  your  faithful  humble  servant, 

"George:  Sinclair." 

"  To  George  Sinclair,  Esquire  of  Ulbster. 

"  Edinburgh,  May  19,  1824. 
"  Dear    Sir, — Your   letter   of  the    10th   March 


UNION  WITH  THE  ESTABLISHMENT.  257 

reached  me  only  a  few  days  ago.    I  thank  you  heartily 
for  the  free  manner  in  which  you  have  imparted  your 
views  and  feelings  on  a  subject  which  evidently  inte- 
rests you  deeply,  and  the  intrinsic  importance  of  which 
you  cannot  easily  overrate.     No  one  can  be  more 
sensibl}'  aflected  than  I  am  at  the  lamentable  schisms 
by  which  the  Christian  body  is  rent,  and  the  nume- 
rous parties  into  which  the  friends  of  evangelical  truth 
and  Presb3'terian  discipline  are  divided.     Though  we 
might  differ  in  opinion  as  to  the  causes  of  the  evil, 
yet  I  fully  sympathize  with  you  in  deploring  its  ex- 
istence.    I  deplore  it  as  productive  of  effects  hurtful 
to  the  temper  of  individuals,  hardening  to  the  minds 
of  the  enemies  of  religion,  and  tending  in  many  ways 
to  prevent  or  to  paralyze  efforts  in  behalf  of  the 
common  cause  of  Christianity.     Nor  does  my  mind 
find   proper  relief  in   the   consideration  by   which 
many  console   themselves — that  the   several  parties 
both  check  and  stimulate  one  another,  that  the  spirit 
of  asperity  which  formerly  prevailed  has  abated  and 
worn  down,  and  that  Christians  of  all  denominations 
now  co-operate  in  associations  (such    as  the   Bible 
Society)  for  promoting   general  purposes  connected 
with  Christianity.    I  do  not  expect  that  "  things  will 
go  well"  in  our  land, or  that  there  will  be  a  general 
revival  of  religion,  or  even  reformation  of  manners, 
and  it  is  my  apprehension,  that,  notwithstanding  any 
present  favourable  symptoms,  and  all  exertions  made 
by  separate  churches  and  voluntary  societies,  irreli- 
gion  and  infidelity  and  crime  will  continue  to  advance 
among  us, — until  an  effective  and  uncrippled  co-ope- 
ration be  established  among  the  genuine  friends  of 
religion  in  the  way  of  their  becoming,  like  the  pri- 
mitive  Christians,  one  body  and  one  soul,  and  until 
there  be,  to  use  your  expression,  "one  faith,  one  bap- 
tism, one  creed  and  one  discipline."    After  express- 
ing such  views,  you  may  think  yourself  entitled  to 
expect  that  I  should  be  ready  to  accede  to  your  re- 
quest; and  certainly  I  would  be  self-condemned,  or 
at  least  inconsistent  with  myself,  if  I  refused  to  lend 
22* 


258  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

my  aid  to  farther  any  scheme  of  a  scriptural  and 
practicahle  kind,  for  uniting  Presbyterians  in  Scot- 
land. That  I  am  strongly  attached  to  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  I  believe  I  need  scarcely  assure  you;  and 
I  might  add  that  circumstances  have  occurred  to  me 
in  adorable  Providence,  which  have  long  ago  relieved 
and  emancipated  my  mind  from  any  bigoted  attach- 
ment to  any  party  which  I  might  once  have  felt, 
though  1  by  no  means  lay  claim  to  exemption  from 
the  influence  of  prejudice  in  favour  of  the  opinions 
which  I  have  formed.  I  stand  in  no  connexion 
which  hinders  me  from  joining  in  any  union  which 
has  for  its  object  and  tendency  the  maintenance  of 
the  genuine  principles  of  the  Church  of  Scotland: 
nor  do  I  think  that  all  who  join  in  such  a  union 
should  be  perfectly  agreed  on  all  points,  and  that  they 
need  not  forbear  with  one  another  in  certain  things 
which  they  cannot  view  in  the  same  light.  Notwith- 
standing this,  I  am  obliged  to  add,  that  I  have  not 
been  able  to  discover  any  plan,  by  which,  in  the  pre- 
sent state  of  things  and  of  men's  minds,  the  union 
of  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland  and  Scceders 
could  be  effected  on  sound  principles,  or  attempted 
with  the  least  reasonable  probability  of  success.  As 
to  the  quarter  from  which  the  proposals  should  first 
come — that  is  a  point  of  no  difficulty  with  me.  If 
other  things  were  clear,  the  person  or  party  which 
should  make  the  first  advances  would,  in  my  opinion, 
secure  the  post  of  honour  instead  of  incurring  dis- 
grace. Nor  does  it  strike  me  that  there  would  be 
required  any  "synopsis  of  principles,"  while  the 
Confession  of  Faith  and  other  Standards  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland  remain.  The  great  desideratum  is  not  a 
declared  or  authorized  system  of  principles,  but  a 
real  and  practical  adherence  to  it,  and  an  administra- 
tion which  would  promise  to  secure  this. 

"  What  you  state,  by  way  of  supposition,  with  re- 
spect to  those  preachers  mentioned  in  your  letter, 
may  be  perfectly  true.  But,  my  dear  Sir,  permit 
me  to  say  that  my  friend  Dr.  A.  Thomson  is  in  ec- 


UNION  WITH  THE  ESTABLISHMENT.  259 

clesiastical  connexion  and  fellowship  with  hrethren 
who  preach  very  different  doctrine  from  what  he 
preaches;  and  there  it  is  that  the  difficulty  pinches. 
I  rejoice  that,  of  late,  the  numher  of  evangelical  and 
pious  ministers  in  the  Church  of  Scotland  has  in- 
creased, though  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that  "  the 
pure  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  are  more  gcnerall}'" 
preached  than  when  the  unfortunate  division  took 
place;"  but  I  suppose  it  will  be  admitted  that  those 
who  are  understood  not  to  preach  the  Gospel  with 
the  greatest  purit}^,  have  uniformly  or  at  least  gene- 
rally the  sway  in  the  Church  Courts;  and  I  need  not 
state  to  you  that  it  is  the  general  impression,  both 
within  and  without  the  Church,  that  it  is  now  an  al- 
most hopeless  task  to  procure  the  conviction  in  the 
General  Assembly  of  a  minister  who  may  be  charge- 
able with  error  in  doctrine,  or  various  pieces  of  im- 
morality in  practice.  You  know,  too,  that  the  ques- 
tion of  Patronage  is  intimately  connected  with  the 
origin  and  grounds  of  the  Secession.  It  is  true,  I  be- 
lieve, as  stated  by  your  venerable  father,  in  a  pam- 
phlet which  he  has  done  me  the  honour  to  send  me, 
that  no  party  in  the  Church  is  disposed  to  revive  a 
controversy  which  seems  to  have  been  set  at  rest  in 
her.  But  I  know  of  no  alteration  which  has  taken 
place  in  the  sentiments  of  Seceders  on  that  head;  and 
I  apprehend  that  the  better  part  of  them  in  numbers, 
or  at  least  in  seriousness,  would  not,  even  though  the 
freedom  of  election  was  granted  to  their  own  congre- 
gations, enter  into  fellowship  with  a  Church  whose 
judicatories  would  force  presentees  upon  reluctant 
and  reclaiming  congregations. 

"  I  beg  you  to  excuse  the  prolixity  of  this  letter: 
but  I  deemed  it  more  respectful  as  well  as  honest  to 
state  to  you  my  sentiments,  rather  than  politely  to 
evade  your  request. — I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  with  much 
respect  and  esteem,  your  faithful  humble  servant, 

*'Tho.  M'Crie," 

Such  were  the  views  which  he  entertained,  at  this 


2G0  LIFE   OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

period,  on  the  question  of  union  with  the  Established 
Church.  The  rapid  improvement  which  has  since 
taken  place  in  that  Church,  has  removed,  to  a  great 
extent,  the  grounds  of  objection  stated  in  the  above 
letter;  but,  as  we  shall  afterwards  see,  there  were 
other  difficulties  in  the  way  of  this  desirable  union, 
rendering  the  prospect  still  more  unlikely  in  his  eyes, 
which  he  did  not  consider  it  necessary  to  explain  to 
his  interesting  correspondent.* 

In  1S27,  as  was  formerly  stated,  he  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  reuniting  with  those  of  his  former  brethren 
who,  dissatisfied  with  the  union  of  the  Burgher  and 
Anliburgher  Synods  in  1820,  had  formed  themselves 
into  a  separate  Synod,  generally  known  by  the  name 
of  Protesters.  Seldom  has  any  union  been  so  happily 
effected,  without  any  compromise  of  principle  on 
either  side.     The  two  parties,  who  found  themselves 

*At  a  meeting  of  the  Anti-Patronage  Society,  January  30, 
1833, at  which  Sir  George  Sinclair  presided,  Dr.  M-Crie,  referring 
to  the  Cijairman,  observed,  "I  am  forcibly  reminded  by  the 
transactions  of  this  day,  of  that  which  commenced  our  acquaint- 
ance, and  when  I  mention  it,  you  will  not  think  that  I  am  enter- 
taining you  with  private  history,  or  forgetting  the  business  for 
whicji  you  are  met.  It  was  a  letter  which  he  addressed  to  me 
several  years  ago,  and  in  which,  after  adverting  to  the  marked 
improvement  of  the  National  Church  in  point  of  evangelical  doc- 
trine, and  to  the  harmony  of  views  which  existed  between  myself 
and  another  person  for  whom  our  love  has  since,  by  the  sovereign 
disposal  of  Heaven,  been  converted  into  a  holy  and  solemn  regret 
(Dr.  Thomson,)  he  proposed  the  serious  question, — Can  nothing 
be  done  to  bring  into  closer  connexion  the  friends  of  religion  in 
the  Establishment  and  in  the  Secession?  I  answered  the  letter 
respectfully,  and  I  trust,  without  any  of  the  ieaven  of  sour  secta- 
rian iealousy,  but  with  the  characteristic  caution  of  a  Scotsman, 
taking  due  care  not  to  pledge  myself  deeply;  and,  among  other 
things,  mentioning,  that,  in  my  opinion,  no  improvements  which 
had  taken  place  and  no  arrangements  which  might  be  made, 
would  heal  the  breach,  so  long  as  that  yoke  which  neither  we 
nor  our  fathers  were  able  to  bear,  remained  on  the  neck  of  the 
Christian  people  of  Scotland.  Little  did  I  then  think  that  1 
should  this  day  be  standing  on  these  boards,  and  moving  thanks 
to  my  honourable  friend  for  the  manly,  decided,  and  truly 
Christian  part,  wliicii  he  has  acted  on  this  important  and  soon- 
to-be  absorbing  question.  His  reply,  bearing  with  the  cold,  if 
not  repulsive  air  of  my  answer,  led  to  an  acquaintance  whicji  I, 
at  Jeast,  have  no  ground  to  regret." 


SYNOD  OF  ORIGINAL  SECEDERS.  261 

contending  materially  for  the  same  grand  truths — 
those  of  the  Covenanted  Reformation — soon  came  to 
a  mutual  understanding,  and  agreed  on  certain  articles 
in  which  the  points  on  vvliich  they  had  heen  supposed 
to  differ,  instead  of  being  dropped  or  evaded,  were 
broadly  and  distinctly  stated,  in  such  a  way  as  to 
remove  all  past  and  prevent  all  future  misunderstand- 
ings.    A  new  Testimony,  or  declaration  of  public  , 
principles,  imbodying  these  articles,  was  then  drawn 
up,  on  the  ground  of  which  the  Constitutional  Pres- 
bytery and  the  Associate  Synod  of  Protesters,  cor- 
dially and  unanimously  merged  into  one  society,  on 
the  18th  of  May  1827,  under  the  name  of  the  Asso- 
ciate   Synod    of    Original    Seceders — a   designation 
intended  to  denote  that  they  stood  precisely  on  the 
same  ground  with  that  occupied  by  the  first  Seceders 
from  the  Church  of  Scotland.     To  Dr.  M'Crie,  his 
brethren  award  the  honour  (we  do  not  say  of  having 
accomplished  this  union,  for  others  are  equally  en- 
titled to  that,  but)  of  having  conducted  it  to  such  a 
happy  issue,  and  settled  it  on  such  a  satisfactory  basis. 
The  historical  part  of  the  Testimony  was  entirely  the 
production  of  his  pen;   and   when   we  consider  not 
only  the  minute  acquaintance  wilh   the   history  of 
ecclesiastical  transactions  necessary  to  such  a  task, 
but  the  extreme  delicacy  required  to  pass  judgment 
on  the   various   differences   which    have   unhappily 
arisen  among  Presbyterians,  this  work  may  well  be 
regarded  as  one  of  his  most  important  undertakings, 
even  by  those  who  may  not  be  prepared  to  subscribe 
to    it   as   an   ecclesiastical    document.      His   whole 
management  in  this  affair  is  entitled  to  the  highest 
praise.     Deeply  convinced    that  no    union    can   be 
either  pleasant  or    profitable,  or   conducive   to   the 
interests  of  truth,  which  is  founded  on  a  compromise 
of  public  principle,  he  was  careful  to  avoid  all  ambi- 
guous expressions,  and  all  attempts  at  smothering  the 
truth,   or  smoothing  over   error;   and  yet   in    mat- 
ters on  which  the  Word  of  God  had  pronounced  no 
judgment,  or  which  might  be  considered  of  personal 


262  '  LIFE   OF  DR,  M'CRIE. 

or  party  concern,  no  one  was  more  ready  to  yield  to 
his  brethren.  On  this  principle  he  steadily  refused 
to  exact  or  to  receive  from  his  former  associates  any 
acknowledgment  of  the  illegality  or  severity  of  the 
sentences  passed  by  the  General  Synod  against  him- 
self and  his  brethren  of  the  Constitutional  Presby- 
tery. The  honour  of  the  truth  was  all  that  he  cared 
to  vindicate:  his  own  he  left  in  the  hands  of  his 
Divine  Master. 

About  the  same  time  he  began  to  devote  himself 
more  than  ever  to  the  task  of  pulpit  preparation. 
He  transcribed  several  sermons,  chiefly  on  some  of 
the  leading  characters  of  Scripture,  with  the  view  of 
forming  a  volume  for  the  press.  Other  avocations, 
and  his  own  extreme  diffidence  in  his  talent  for  this 
species  of  composition,  prevented  him  from  carrying 
this  design  into  execution:  the  sermons  whicli  he 
transcribed  were  published,  however,  in  a  posthumous 
volume,  in  1836;  and  I  have  no  reason  to  repent 
having  offered  them  to  the  public.  His  health  and 
spirits  gradually  improved:  and  his  domestic  happi- 
ness was  enhanced  by  a  second  marriage,  having 
united  himself,  in  the  end  of  1S27,  with  Mary,  fourth 
daughter  of  his  venerable  friend  and  fellow-labourer, 
the  Rev,  Robert  Chalmers  of  Haddington. 

To  return  to  his  historical  labours, — in  May  1825 
we  find  him  ed;ting  the  "  Memoirs  of  Mr.  William 
Veitchand  George  Brysson,  written  by  themselves," 
from  manuscripts  which  had  been  put  into  his  hands 
with  a  view  to  publication.  To  these  narratives  he 
prefixed  brief  biographical  notices,  and  appended 
illustrative  notes.  '•  Some,"  he  observes  in  the  pre- 
face, ''  may  be  of  opinion  that  unnecessary  pains  have 
been  taken  in  the  editing  of  this  work;  but  having 
undertaken  the  publication  of  these  memorials,  and 
considering  them  to  be  valuable,  I  reckoned  it  in- 
cumbent on  me  to  do  them  as  much  justice  as  pos- 
sible. With  a  little  more  labour,  a  connected  history 
of  the  period  might  have  been  produced,  but  1  am 
persuaded  that  no  account  which  I  could  draw  up 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION  IN  ITALY.      263 

would  present  so  graphic  a  picture  of  the  men  and 
measures  of  that  time,  as  is  exhibited  in  the  follow- 
ing historical  pieces.  The  reader  has  an  opportunity 
of  listening  to  persons  who  describe  scenes  which 
they  witnessed  and  in  which  they  bore  a  part  more 
or  less  distinguished.  Agreeing  in  their  religious 
and  political  sentiments,  they  were  placed  in  very 
different  situations:  one  of  them  being  an  ecclesias- 
tic, another  a  military  man,  a  third  a  private  gentle- 
man, and  a  fourth  a  farmer  and  a  merchant  at  differ- 
ent periods  of  his  life."  "  Brysson's  Memoir  is  by  far 
the  best  written  of  the  whole;  and  indeed,  it  appears 
to  me  to  be  a  master-piece  of  the  kind  for  unaffected 
simplicity  and  the  natural  picturesque  in  historical 
description." 

After  all,  however,  one  cannot  help  regretting  that 
the  labour  expended  on  the  editing  of  these  obscure 
memoirs  had  not  been  devoted  to  "  a  connected  his- 
tory of  the  period."  They  are  interesting,  certainly, 
as  affording  us  some  insight  into  the  private  history 
of  the  period  ;  but  one  is  vexed  to  see  such  sketches 
framed  and  ornamented  at  an  expense  of  time  and 
toil  which  might  have  served  to  produce  an  original 
painting,  embracing  the  whole  field,  and  concen- 
trating itsmost  importantfeaturesin  a  connected  piece. 
The  reader  is  disappointed,  too,  on  finding  so  few  of 
the  editor's  own  sentiments  even  in  the  brief  Notices 
which  are  prefixed  to  the  narratives,  and  which  chiefly 
consist  of  facts  relating;  to  the  individuals.  Amona: 
the  rare  exceptions  to  this  rule,  are  the  following 
reflections,  which  occur  in  his  Notices  of  .Tames  Urc, 
in  reference  to  the  extreme  opinions  of  Hamilton 
and  his  part}^,  a  main  cause  of  the  lamentable  failure 
at  Both  well  Bridge:  and  which,  as  being  the  only 
record  of  his  sentiments  on  an  interesting  question, 
may  be  here  transcribed: — "  Another  remark  is  sug- 
gested by  the  facts  here  referred  to.  If  ministers  of 
the  Gospel  would  preserve  their  usefulness  and  respec- 
tability, they  must  guard  their  independence  on  the 
side  of  the  people  as  well  as  of  civil  rulers.     Pro- 


264  LIFE   OF  DK.  M'CKIE. 

vitled  they  become  "  the  servants  of  men,"  it  matters 
not  much  whether  their  masters  wear  a  crown  or  a 
bonnet;  and  if,  instead  of  going  before  the  people  to 
point  out  to  them  the  path  of  duty,  and  checking 
them  when  they  are  ready  to  run  into  extremes,  they 
wait  to  receive  directions  from  them,  and  suffer 
themselves  to  be  borne  along  by  the  popular  stream, 
the  consequences  cannot  fail  to  be  fatal  to  both. 
Firm  and  tenacious  of  his  purpose,  the  servant  of 
the  Lord,  while  gentle  to  all,  ought  to  hold  on  the 
even  tenour  of  his  way,  unmoved  equally  by  the 
frown  of  the  tyrant,  the  cry  of  the  multitude,  and  dic- 
tates of  forward  individuals,  good  and  well-meaning 
men  it  may  be,  but  who  "  cannot  see  afar  off,"  and 
just  need  the  more  to  be  led  that  they  think  them- 
selves capable  of  being  leaders.  An  opposite  con- 
duct on  tlie  part  of  two  or  three  ministers  tended  to 
foster  those  extravagant  opinions  and  practices  adopt- 
ed by  some  Presbyterians  at  this  period,  which  dis- 
credited the  cause  for  which  they  appeared,  and 
which  their  best  friends,  though  they  may  excuse, 
will  not  be  able  to  defend,  and  should  not  seek  to 
vindicate,"* 

"  Perhaps,"  he  says  to  one  of  his  friends,  in  Feb- 
ruary 1S26,  "you  may  wish  to  know  what  I  am  doing 
in  my  study?  Idling.  One  word  expresses  the  whole, 
providing  your  inquiry  relates,  as  the  ordinary  in- 
quiries do,  to  literary  labours.  For  some  years  I  have 
confined  my  studies  almost  entirely  to  preparations 
for  the  pulpit,  and  it  was  my  desire — my  earnest  de- 
sire to  continue  to  do  so,  even  more  exclusively  and 
entirely  than  I  have  lately  done.  This,  however, 
1  find  to  be  impracticable,  and  therefore  I  must, 
though  with  inexpressible  reluctance,  alter  my  course. 
Excuse  me  from  saj'ing  more  at  present."  He 
alludes  here  to  his  proposed  work  on  the  "  History 
of  the  Progress  and  Suppression  of  the  Reformation 
in  Italy,"  which  appeared  in  May  1827.     "A  con- 

*  Memoirs  of  V'eitch,  &c.,  pp.  453,  '154. 


THE  REFORMATION  IN  ITALY.  265 

siderable  number  of  years  has  elapsed,"  he  says  in  the 
Preface,  "  since  I  was  convinced  that  the  reformed 
opinions  had  spread  to  a  much  <i;reater  extent  in  Italy 
than  is  commonly  supposed.  This  conviction  I  took 
an  opportunit}'  of  makino;  public,  and,  at  the  same 
iime  expressed  a  wish  that  some  person  who  had 
leisure  would  pursue  the  inquiry,  and  fill  up  what 
1  considered  as  a  blank  in  the  Histor}^  of  the  Refor- 
mation.* Hearing  of  none  who  was  willing  to  accept 
the  invitation,  I  lately  resolved  to  arrange  the  mate- 
rials relating  to  the  subject  which  had  occurred  to 
me  in  the  course  of  my  reading,  with  tlie  addition  of 
such  facts  as  could  be  discovered  by  a  more  careful 
search  into  the  most  probable  sources  of  informa- 
tion." 

The  chief  defect  of  this  work  as  a  composition,  is 
its  presenting  to  us  its  numerous  notices  of  distin- 
guished characters,  as  it  were,  by  piecemeal.  "We 
meet,"  says  one  of  its  reviewers,  "  with  the  disjecla 
membra  heroxim;  which  we  are  obliged  to  combine 
into  a  whole,  as  well  as  we  can,  by  the  help  of  an 
imperfect  index.  It  is  easy  to  see  how  the  author 
has  fallen  into  this  mismanagement,  which  divides, 
and  thus  weakens  the  impression  of  his  sketches. 
Where  a  character  lives  and  figures  throughout  the 
greater  part  of  a  history,  it  is  natural  and  proper  that 

*  "  I  had  once  intended  drawing  np  an  account  of  tlie  Refor- 
mation in  Italy,'  but  laid  aside  the  design  owing  to  other  engage- 
ments, and  not  being  able  to  procure  all  the  information  I  could 
have  wished;  and  it  will  give  me  great  pleasure  if  these  hints 
(which  he  has  given  in  tiie  note)  shall  excite  some  person  to 
undertake  the  task,  who  has  more  leisure,  and  better  access  to 
materials." — (Life  of  Knox,  vol.  ii.,  p.  309,  note,  2d  edition.)  To 
this  design  I  find  Mr.  Bruce  referring  so  far  back  as  April  1814, 
with  a  hope  that  it  "would  not  be  finally  laid  aside.'"  "  It  is 
matter  of  gratitude  to  God,"  says  a  late  writer,  "  that  the  eminent 
biographer  of  Knox  was  spared,  not  only  to  write  the  Life  of 
Melville,  and  other  works  connected  with  the  Reformation  of  his 
native  land,  but  also  to  revert  to  what  he  here  tells  us  he  had 
laid  aside,  and  to  confer  on  the  universal  Church  such  a  valuable 
boon  as  that  conveyed  by  his  two  most  original  and  delightful 
works,  the  History  of  the  Reformation,  not  in  Italy  only,  but  also 
iu  Spaim" — {Christian  lastruclor^  March  lii'6.8,  p.  100.) 


266  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE, 

he  should  thus  come  gradually  before  the  reader,  ac- 
cording to  the  regular  succession  of  events;  but  where 
a  number  of  persons  are  to  be  presented,  of  whom  no 
one  takes  a  leading  part,  and  the  accounts  of  whom 
amount,  after  all,  only  to  detached  notices,  we  con- 
ceive that  another  method  is  to  be  adopted;  and  that 
the  author's  judgment  and  address  should  be  shown 
in  selecting  the  proper  places  at  which  to  introduce 
the  substance  of  the  entire  information  which  he  has 
to  offer  concerning  them,  respectively,  in  their  rise, 
their  period  of  service,  and  their  close."*  These  re- 
marks appear  to  be  equally  judicious  and  applicable 
to  the  present  work;  and  of  this  none  could  be  more 
sensible  than  the  author  himself.  "  Its  unpromising 
character,"  he  observes  in  one  of  his  letters,  "  and  its 
unconnected,  anecdotical  form,  after  all  the  labour 
I  could  bestow  upon  it,  I  was  aware  of,  but  felt  a 
strong  desire  after  all  to  do  some  justice  to  the  sub- 
ject. Perhaps  my  zeal  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the 
maxim  of  the  Roman  satirist.  Quod  tu  solas  nihil  est, 
nisi  te  scire  alter  sciaff — or  something  like  that."  It 
is  certainly  more  "  easy  to  see  how  the  author  has 
fallen  into  this  mismanagement,"  than  it  would  be  to 
attempt  an  improvement  in  a  work  of  such  peculiar 
difficulty;:}:  but  we  cannot  help  regretting  that  the 
notices  of  such  characters. as  Curio,  Carnesecchi,  Pa- 
]eario,Ochino,and01ympiaMorata,  had  notbeen  given 
as  connected  episodes.  Even  as  they  stand,  they  form 
the  main  attractions  of  the  work:  they  have  been  fre- 
quently quoted;  and  such  was  the  interest  excited  in 
particular  by  the  account  of  the  pious,  learned,  and 

*  Christian  Observer,  August  1827. 

t  "  It  is  nothing  for  you  to  know  any  thing,  unless  another 
know  that  you  know  it." 

I  The  difficulties  of  the  work  may  be  estimated,  when  it  is  con- 
sidered that  the  author  had  to  trace  the  introduction,  progress 
and  suppression  of  the  reformed  opinions  into  no  less  than 
twenty-five  different  Italian  States,  which  he  has  done  in  so 
many  distinct,  and,  in  fifteen  cases,  particular  accounts  of  each; 
and  that  there  was  no  single  hero  of  sufficient  importance  to 
give  unity,  no  combined  national  movements  to  give  cohesion  to 
the  story. 


THE   REFORMATION  IN  ITALY.  267 

amiable  Olympia,  in  the  congenial  breast  of  a  modern 
authoress,  that  she  was  induced  to  inquire  more  nar- 
rowly into  her  history,  which  led  to  a  correspondence 
with  our  author,  and  issued  in  the  publication  of  an 
interesting  biography  of  the  Italian  heroine.* 

"The  volume,"  says  the  reviewer  already  quoted, 
"is  highl}'^  literary.  In  some  parts  religion  will  be 
thought,  perhaps,  to  be  rather  overlaid,  and  in  a  mea- 
sure hidden,  by  literature;  while  the  author  has  some- 
times rather  excited  longings  than  satisfied  them,  by 
adverting  to  devout  passages,  '  to  which  he  knows 
nothing  superior,'  and  letters  full  of  pious  'unction,' 
of  which  he  has  allowed  us  but  scantily  to  taste  with 
him.  His  is  one  of  the  few  volumes  which  might 
have  been  advantageously  extended,  by  additions  from 
such  sources.  Dr.  M'Crie's  reflections  are  not  frequent 
or  copious,  but  they  are  just  and  weighty,  and  proceed 
upon  the  soundest  principles."  Our  author,  however, 
always  disliked  the  practice  of  spiritualizing  histori- 
cal events;  and  if  we  may  judge  from  the  failure  of 
late  attempts  of  this  nature,  he  was  right:  a  history,  it 
seems,  must  be  just  a  history,  and  a  sermon  just  a  ser- 
mon; the  combination  of  the  two,  like  that  of  religion 
in  a  novel,  is  sure  to  spoil  both.  Dr.  M'Crie's  par- 
tiality to  the  subject  of  this  history  induced  him  to 
bestow  great  pains  on  the  second  edition,  which  ap- 
peared in  June  1833,  with  considerable  enlargements. 

The  "  Reformation  in  Italy"  has  excited  conside- 
rable interest  on  the  continent.  It  has  been  trans- 
lated into  French,  German  and  Dutch. f    It  was  proba- 

*"01ympia  Morata,  her  Times,  Life,  and  Writings,  by  the 
aullior  of '  Selwyn,' '  Mornings  with  Mamma,'  '  Probation,' '  Tales 
of  the  Moors,'  &c.  The  author  of  these  pages  knows  not  how 
the  discovery  may  have  affected  others,  more  learned,  more 
callous,  or  more  philosophical  tlian  herself;  but  it  was  with  a 
sense  of  strange  and  spirit-stirring  emotion,  that  she  first  gathered, 
from  the  valuable  work  of  her  countrymen,  Dr.  M-Crie,  how 
bright,  though  brief  a  ray,  the  beacon  light  of  the  blessed  Refor- 
mation, once  shed  over  now,  alas!  universally  benighted  Italy," 
Olympia  Morata,  p.  ]. 

1  The  French  translation  was  published  anonymously,  at  Paris, 
in  1831 .    It  is  well  e.Tfecuted.    The  author  of  the  Dutch  transr 


26S  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'craE. 

bly  owing  to  these  versions,  and  the  fear  of  its  being 
translated  into  Italian,  that  the  court  of  Rome  lately 
did  this  work  the  honour  of  inserting  it  in  the  Index 
Expurgatorius.  It  could  hardly  be  expected  that  so 
faithful  a  tale  of  "Protestant  tears  and  Popish  tri- 
umphs," would  escape  the  lynx-eyed  inquisitors  of 
Rome;  the  wonder  is,  that,  with  such  proofs  of  the 
unaltered  spirit  of  that  religion,  as  displayed  at  head- 
quarters, any  should  allow  themselves  to  be  duped 
with  the  fair  professions  of  liberality,  made  by  its 
emissaries  who  are  prosecuting  the  war,  on  other  tac- 
tics, in  the  enemy's  country. 

''Italy"  was  succeeded,  in  October  1829,  by  a 
similar  work  on  "The  Progress  and  Suppression  of 
the  Reformation  in  Spain,  in  the  Sixteenth  Century." 
"The  following  work,"  he  says  in  the  Preface,  "is  a 
sequel  to  that  which  I  lately  published  on  the  Refor- 
mation in  Italy,  and  completes  what  I  intended  as  a 
contribution  to  that  memorable  revolution  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  which,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
affected  all  the  nations  of  Europe.  More  than  twenty 
years  have  elapsed  since  I  inserted,  in  a  periodical 
work,  a  short  account  of  the  introduction  of  the  re- 
formed opinions  into  Spain,  and  the  means  employed 
to  extirpate  them.  The  scanty  materials  from  which 
that  sketch  was  formed  have  gradually  increased  in 
the  course  of  subsequent  reading  and  research." 

The  periodical  here  referred  to  was  the  Christian 
Magazine,  and  the  account  was  comprised  in  the 
two  sketches  already  referred  to,  (p.  150,)  the  first  of 

lation  is  the  Rev.  William  Nicholae  Muntintj,  one  of  the  ministers 
of  Leyden,  who  has  also  translated  Dr.  M'Crie's  "  History  of  the 
Reformation  in  Spain,''  and  added  several  valuable  notes  to  his 
version  of  both  works.  I  may  add,  on  the  authority  of  my  friend 
Dr,  Steven,  (late  of  the  Scots  Church,  Rotterdam,^  that  Mr. 
Munting  has  done  his  part  most  satisfactorily,  and  that  the  public 
liave  already  so  far  encouraged  the  undertaliing  by  the  purchase 
of  a  considerable  impression.  Of  Itti/y,  there  have  been  two 
editions  in  Dutch.  In  a  catalogue  of  new  German  publications, 
dateiJ  183G,  is  a  German  translation  of  Dr.  M'Crie's  "  History  of 
tiie  Reformation  in  Spain,"  with  notes  and  a  preface  by  Messrs. 
Flif  Dinger  and  Bauer,  published  at  Stuttgardt. 


THE  REFORMATION  IN  SPAIN.  269 

which  appeared  in  November  1803,  twenty-six  years 
before  tlie  publication  of  his  present  work  on  the  Re- 
formation in  Spain.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  Refor- 
mation in  Spain  should  have  been  the  first  subject  on 
which  he  employed  his  historical  pen,  and  which  in- 
duced him  to  prosecute  such  researches,  and  that  it 
should  have  been  the  last  historical  work  which  he 
gave  to  the  public. 

The  Reformation  produced  so  little  impression  on 
Spain — its  early  promise  was  so  speedily  crushed  by 
the  iron  gripe  of  the  inquisition — the  interval  was  so 
brief  between  the  partial  opening  in  the  cloud  that 
had  enveloped  that  country  for  centuries,  and  its 
closing  again  in  darkness  and  blood — that  less  general 
interest  has  been  excited  by  the  history  of  its  progress 
and  suppression,  than  might  have  been  expected  from 
the  novelty  of  the  subject,  and  the  thrilling  though 
painful  character  of  its  details.  It  is  probable  that 
the  real  interest  and  importance  of  this  history  will 
not  be  developed  or  felt,  till  time  has  brought  about 
changes  in  the  political  and  ecclesiastical  state  of  that 
ill-fated  country  which  will  open  its  eyes  to  the  bene- 
fits of  the  Reformation.  This  the  author  himself 
seems  to  anticipate  in  his  closing  reflections.  "We 
are  not  to  conclude  that  the  Spanish  martyrs  threw 
away  their  lives  and  spilt  their  blood  in  vain.  They 
offered  to  God  a  sacrifice  of  a  sweet-smelling  savour. 
Their  blood  is  precious  in  his  sight;  he  has  avenged 
it,  and  may  yet  more  signally  avenge  it.  They  left 
their  testimony  for  truth  in  a  country  where  it  had 
been  eminently  opposed  and  outraged.  That  testi- 
mony has  not  altogether  perished.  Who  knows  what 
efiects  the  record  of  what  they  dared  and  suflfei'ed 
may  yet,  through  the  divine  blessing,  produce  upon 
that  unhappy  nation,  which  counted  them  as  the  filth 
and  offscouring  of  all  things,  but  was  not  worthy  of 
them  ?"* 

The  following  reflections  appended  by  Dr.  M'Crie 

*  History  of  tije  Reformation  in  Spain,  p.  340, 
23* 


270  LIFE   OF  DR.    M'CRIE. 

to  this  history,  had  struck  him  at  the  commencement 
of  his  historical  career,  in  1803,  and  their  soundness, 
it  appears,  was  confirmed  hy  all  his  subsequent  in- 
vestigations. The  importance  which  he  attached  to 
them,  as  well  as  the  prevalence  of  the  opposite  sen- 
timent, seems  to  justify  their  insertion  in  these  me- 
moirs. 

"The  fate  of  the  Reformation  in  Spain,  as  well  as 
Italy,  teaches  us  not  to  form  hasty  and  rash  conclu- 
sions respecting  a  course  of  proceedings  on  which 
Providence,  for  inscrutable  reasons,  may  sometimes 
be  pleased  to  frown.  The  common  maxim  that  'the 
blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  Church,'  was 
remarkably  verified  in  the  primitive  ages  of  Christi- 
anity; but  we  must  distinguish  what  is  effected  by  the 
special  interposition  and  extraordinary  blessing  of 
Heaven,  from  what  will  happen  according  to  the  ordi- 
nary course  of  events.  In  the  nature  of  things,  it  can- 
not but  operate  as  a  great,  and  with  multitudes  as  an 
insuperable  obstacle  to  the  reception  of  the  truth, 
that,  in  follovving  the  dictates  of  their  conscience, 
they  must  expose  themselves  to  every  species  of 
worldly  evil;  and  persecution  may  be  carried  to  such 
a  pitch  as  will,  without  a  miracle,  crush  the  best  of 
causes;  for  though  it  cannot  eradicate  the  truth  from 
the  minds  of  those  by  whom  it  has  been  cordially 
embraced,  it  may  cut  off  all  the  ordinary  means  of 
communication  by  which  it  is  propagated.  Accord- 
ingly, history  shows  that  true  religion  has  been  not 
only  excluded,  but  banished,  for  ages,  from  extensive 
regions  of  the  globe,  by  oppressive  laws  and  a  tyran- 
nical administration."* 


*  Reformation  in  Spain,  p.  343.  In  a  note,  he  refutes  the  well- 
known  sentiment  of  Andrew  Fuller,  which  has  often  been  echoed 
of  late — "  that  when  Christians  have  resorted  to  the  sword  in 
order  to  resist  persecution  for  the  Gospel's  sake,  they  have  -perished 
by  it,  that  is,  they  have  been  overcome  by  their  enemies,  and 
exterminated;  whereas  in  cases  where  their  only  weapons  have 
been  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  and  the  Word  of  their  testimony, 
loving  not  tlieir  lives  to  the  death,  they  have  overcome,"  IJoIJi 
parts  of  this  assertion,  tlio  author  shows,  are  contradicted  by 


THE  REFORMATION  IN  SPAIN.  271 

It  has  often  been  regretted  that,  instead  of  prosecu- 
ting these  remote  and  foreign  researches,  Dr.  M'Crie 
did  not  bring  down,  to  a  later  period,  the  history  of 
the  Reformation  in  his  native  country.  At  one  time, 
as  we  have  ah'eady  seen,  he  contemplated  this;  but 
several  reasons  conspired  to  prevent  him  from  finish- 
ing the  design.  The  extraordinary  efforts  wiiich  the 
Lives  of  Knox  and  Melville  had  cost  him,  shattered 
his  strength  and  exhausted  his  spirits,  to  such  a  de- 
gree as  to  deter  him  from  prosecuting  an  undertaking 
which,  in  his  eye,  threatened  to  be  no  less  laborious. 
He  was  incapable  of  treating  any  subject  superficially; 
and  the  very  extent  of  his  acquaintance  with  the  im- 
mense mass  of  conflicting  materials  with  which  he 
would  have  to  deal,  in  treating  the  history  of  the 
Second  Reformation,  made  him  shrink  with  the  more 
repugnance  from  the  prospect  of  encountering  it.  In 
the  cases  of  Italy  and  Spain,  the  difficulties,  though 
far  from  trifling,  were  more  easily  surmounted.  He 
had  collected  a  multitude  of  facts,  and  he  took  plea- 
sure in  arranging  them  into  a  narrative.  Besides,  to 
tell  the  truth,  though  he  would  never  allow  himself 
to  be  an  antiquary,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  that  term, 
— a  class  indeed  for  whom  he  expressed  no  small 
contempt, — yet  he  was  fond  of  that  species  of  literary 
adventure,  which  delights  in  investigating  the  un- 
known regions  of  the  world  of  history,  exploring 
sources  of  information  to  which  few  have  access,  and 
from  thence  collecting  materials  which  might  serve 
to  illustrate  long-neglected  worth,  or  to  vindicate 
much-injured  innocence.*     This,  doubtless,  had   its 

history.  "  Tlie  truth  is,  that  the  Albigenses,  &c.,  who  resisted, 
were  not  exterminated;  while  the  Italian  and  Spanish  Protestants, 
who  did  not  resist,  met  with  that  fate." 

*  "  I  liave  launched  out  into  a  sea,"  he  writes  to  a  friend,  "  by 
trying  to  explore  the  terra  incognita  of  the  early  history  of  the 
Spanish  Church.  I  think  I  have  made  some  discoveries,  that  is, 
I  flatter  myself  in  this.  If  you  say,  Who  will  care  for  them.'  my 
answer  must  be  in  the  sublime  of  Medea,  Egomet."  "Like  you," 
writes  Mr.  Bruce  to  him  in  1814,  "  I  feel  a  strong  propensity  to 
hunt  after  something  new,  or  to  gratify  the  mind  by  a  rapid 
change  of  my  ideas  in  reading,  rather  than  to  settle  long  to  com- 
position on  a  particular  subject." 


272  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

share  in  attracting  him  to  Italy  and  Spain.  And  it 
may  be  here  mentioned,  as  a  proof  of  his  determina' 
tion  to  overcome  the  difficulties  of  the  task,  that  in 
order  to  consult  his  authorities  in  the  original  lan- 
guages, he  made  himself  master,  at  a  late  period  of 
his  life,  of  the  Italian  and  the  Spanish.  In  the  for- 
mer language,  he  made  considerable  proficiency:  the 
German  he  had  acquired  at  an  earlier  period. 

While  tlius  engaged  in  tracing  the  blood-stained 
annals  of  Protestantism  in  foreign  lands,  and  ex- 
posing the  essentially  cruel  and  intolerant  character  of 
Popery,  we  may  easily  conceive  with  what  feelings  of 
grief  and  alarm  he  witnessed  the  progress  of  the  Bill 
introduced  by  Government  in  1S29,  for  admitting 
Roman  Catholics  into  places  of  power  and  trust.  On 
this  momentous  question,  as  we  have  seen,  his  senti- 
ments were  most  decided.  None  could  be  more  op- 
posed than  he,  both  on  principle  and  from  feeling,  to 
persecution  for  conscience'  sake.  Of  this  he  gave  a 
sufficient  proof  by  taking  an  active  interest  in  peti- 
tioning for  the  abolition  of  the  Test  and  Corporation 
Acts,  in  the  preceding  year.  Though  well  aware  that 
the  abolition  of  these  acts  would  lead  to  "Catholic 
Emancipation,"  a  measure  which  he  dreaded  and  de- 
precated as  one  of  the  most  ruinous  projects  of  mo- 
dern legislation,  yet  such  was  his  conscientiousness, 
such  his  persuasion  of  the  iniquity  of  these  Acts,  that 
he  pleaded  for  their  removal  with  as  much  zeal  as  the 
keenest  partisan  in  the  cause  of  emancipation  could 
desire.  His  objection  to  them  was  not  merely  that 
they  involved  a  gross  profanation  of  sacred  things,  by 
prostituting  the  memorials  of  the  Redeemer's  death 
to  obtain  secular  advantages;  but  that  they  made  a 
difference  in  religion,  strictly  so  called,  a  ground  of 
exclusion  from  civil  privileges.  It  was  on  very  dif- 
ferent principles  that  he  opposed  the  admission  of 
Papists  to  places  of  power  and  trust.  He  "felt  not 
the  slightest  wish  to  deprive  Roman  Catholics  of  the 
full  liberty,  which  they  ah-cady  enjoyed,  of  practising 
the  rites  of  their  worship,  and  conducting  their  pri- 


CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION.  273 

vate  affaii's,  without  molestation  or  disturbance;"  but 
he  was  "decidedly  of  opinion  tliat  the  genius  and 
complex  system  of  Popery  and  the  dominant  and 
encroaching  spirit  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  not  only 
are  contrary  to  the  word  of  God,  and  fraught  with 
superstition  and  idolatry,  but  are  such,  in  themselves, 
and  in  the  unequivocal  manifestations  which  have 
been  so  often  given  of  their  tendencies,  as  to  render 
it  unsafe  to  intrust  the  adherents  of  that  superstition 
with  poHtical  power  in  this  country;  and,  in  particu- 
lar, that  their  divided  allegiance — their  subjection  to 
a  foreign  dominion,  which  has  arrogated,  exercised, 
and  never  renounced  a  universal  authority,  affecting, 
indirectly,  at  least,  the  temporal  and  civil  interests  of 
men — their  implicit  devotion  to  a  Church  claiming 
infallibility  and  exclusive  salvation — and  the  notori- 
ous subserviency  which  they  are  under  to  their  spiri- 
tual guides,  utterly  incapacitate  them  for  giving 
those  securities  which  are  requisite  to  a  participation 
of  Legislative  and  Executive  power  in  a  Protestant 
countr}',  and  under  a  Government  like  that  of  Bri- 
tain."* In  short,  he  could  not  regard  in  the  light  of 
persecution  for  conscience'  sake,  the  policy  of  with- 
holding cW\\  power  from  a  class  of  men  who,  under 
the  name  of  religion,  had  uniformly  employed  that 
power  for  the  suppression  or  overthrow  of  civil  and 
religious  freedom. 

But  it  was  not  on  political  grounds  merely  that 
he  opposed  these  concessions  to  Roman  Catholics. 
He  considered  Britain  as  pledged,  by  solemn  cove- 
nants to  God,  for  the  extirpation  of  Popery,  as  a 
system  of  idolatry  and  wickedness;  and  the  proposal 
to  admit  the  sworn  adherents  of  Rome  within  the 
ramparts  of  the  British  constitution,  he  could  regard 
in  no  other  light  than  as  a  violation  of  that  solemn 
compact,  exposing  us  to  the  judgments  of  Heaven 
threatened  against  those  nations  which  should  "give 
their  power  and  strength  unto  the  beast."     He  de- 

*  Petition  to  the  house  of  Commons  against  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic Claims,  drawn  up  by  Dr.  M'Crie.     See  Appendix. 


274  LIFE  OF  DR.  M^CUIE. 

nounced  it  as  "throwing  away  the  privileges  which 
we  possessed  not  as  principals  but  as  trustees,  not  as 
proprietors  but  usufructuaries."  And  it  was  his  firm 
persuasion,  founded  on  the  language  of  Scripture  pro- 
phecy, and  confirmed  by  all  his  knowledge  of  the  past 
history  of  Popery,  as  well  as  by  his  observation  of 
public  opinion  and  passing  events,  that  the  Church  of 
Rome  would  yet  gain  a  temporary  ascendency  in 
Great  Britain,  which  would  issue  in  a  fearful  struggle 
previous  to  her  final  overthrow.  With  such  solemn 
views  of  the  question,  we  need  not  be  surprised  to 
learn  that  he  frequently  took  an  opportunity  of  ad- 
verting to  it  from  the  pulpit.  This  was  amply  af- 
forded him  at  the  time  by  the  Book  of  Ezra  on  which 
he  was  in  the  course  of  lecturing.  "Convinced  from 
the  first,"  he  said  on  one  of  these  occasions,  "that 
the  Ministry  of  the  day  will  succeed  in  carrying  their 
object,  that  their  resolution  is  taken  to  prosecute  their 
plans,  whatever  opposition  may  be  made  by  the  coun- 
try, and  that  it  seems  to  be  the  intention  of  Provi- 
dence to  permit  it,  from  the  union  of  parties  hitherto 
so  uniformly  opposed,  and  the  lying  spirit  which  has 
entered  into  our  prophets — my  sole  object  in  referring 
to  the  measure  as  I  have  done,  is  personal  exonera- 
tion. We  have  been  told  from  a  high  quarter,  to 
avoid  such  subjects,  'unless  we  wish  to  rekindle  the 
flames  of  Smithfield,  now  long  forgotten.  Long 
forgotten!  where  forgotten?  In  heaven?  No,  In 
Britain?  God  forbid.  They  may  be  forgotten  at 
St.  Stephen's  or  Westminster  Abbey,  but  they  are 
not  forgotten  in  Britain.  And,  if  ever  such  a  day 
arrives,  the  hours  of  Britain's  prosperity  have  been 
numbered."*     On  no  subject,  indeed,  were  his  feel- 

*  "  The  late  Dr.  M'Crie,  especially,  stood  out  as  a  beacon  to  his 
own  degenerate  age,  of  which  his  sagacious  and  far-sighted  ken 
enabled  him  to  take  the  lead.  A  few  of  his  contemporaries, 
indeed,  of  the  same  mental  calibre  with  himself,  as  the  late 
Robert  Hall,  had  prophetic  gliin])ses  of  the  approaching  struggle 
between  the  re-assertors  of  the  faith  of  Rome,  and  the  descend- 
ants of  the  Reformation.  But  on  Dr.  M'Crie,  as  on  a  true  north- 
ern seer,  the  vision  of  the  future  seenaed  to  burst,  with  all  the 


CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION.  275 

ings  more  apt  to  be  excited.  He  was  deeply  grieved 
by  what  lie  considered  the  grand  defection  of  the 
Whig  party,  with  whose  politics  he  generally  agreed, 
but  who  on  this  question  had  so  completely  aban- 
doned the  Whiggism  of  the  old  school,  and  joined 
issue  with  their  opponents,  the  Tories,  who,  in  for- 
mer times  at  least,  were  favourable  to  concessions  to 
Roman  Catholics.*  This  was  the  only  point  of  pub- 
lic principle  on  which  he  differed, and  had  almost  quar- 
relled, with  his  friend  Dr.  Thomson;  and  many  were 
the  conferences  which  they  held  on  it.  That  great 
and  good  man  was,  like  many  others,  impressed  with 
the  idea  that  Catholicism  had  undergone  important 
modifications,  and  misled  by  the  delusive  expectation 
of  healing  the  dissensions  of  the  country,  and  trium- 
phing over  the  errors  of  Popery,  by  conceding  to 
Paptists  admissibilit}'  to  places  of  civil  power; — a 
measure  which  far  from  realizing  these  sanguine  prog- 
nostics, has  been  made  only  a  stepping-stone  to  far- 
ther demands — has  given  increased  currency  to  a 
superstition,  too  well  adapted  to  human  nature,  by 
removing  the  stigma  which  our  ancestors  had  wisely 
appended  to  it  by  placing  it  under  the  ban  of  law — 
and  has  engrafted  on  the  British  constitution,  what 
was  formerly  confined  to  the  Protestant  and  Popish 
creeds,  a  principle  of  perpetual  disunion. 

Little  prospect  as  he  entertained  of  success  in  any 
opposition  to  this  fatal  measure,  he  considered  it  his 
duty  to  use  every  lawful  means  to  prevent  it;  and 
accordingly  he  joined  in  a  requisition  to  the  Lord 
Provost  of  Edinburgh,  signed  by  forty-six  respect- 
inspirations  of  literary  courage,  which  laughed  to  scorn  the 
deiision  of  the  puling  and  degenerate  advocates  of  modern 
liberalism." — London  Watchman,  Nov.  1835. 

*  The  Whigs  of  Scotland  were  always,  till  of  late  years,  the 
foremost  in  opposing  concessions  to  Popery.  The  Moderate  party 
in  the  Churcli  of  Scotland,  under  the  management  of  Principal 
Robertson,  took  the  opposite  side;  and  his  biographer,  Mr. 
Stewart,  is  at  great  pains  to  vindicate  him  for  the  part  which  he 
took  in  this  question,  a  part  so  obnoxious  at  that  time  to  the 
people  of  Scotland,  that  his  life  had  almost  fallen  a  sacrifice  to 
the  popular  fury. 


^16  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

able  gentlemen,  to  call  a  public  meeting  of  those  who 
were  of  opinion  "that  no  farther  political  power 
should  be  granted  to  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  nor  admission  into  either  House 
of  Parliament,"  for  the  purpose  of  petitioning  the 
Legislature  on  the  subject.  His  Lordship,  however, 
having  previously  consulted  with  the  Solicitor-Gene- 
ral, was  induced,  in  deference  to  his  opinion,  to  de- 
cline calling  such  a  meeting;  and  the  requisitionists, 
unwilling  to  raise  any  undue  excitement,  did  not 
press  the  matter  any  farther.  The  Pro-Catholic  party, 
however,  without  deeming  it  necessary  to  ask  the 
sanction  of  the  Provost,  or  even  to  apprize  him  of 
their  design,  called  a  meeting  to  petition  in  favour 
of  "Emancipation;"  and  this  meeting,  which  proved 
somewhat  tumultuous,  was  held  on  the  14th  March 
1829.*  Thus  the  inhabitants  of  Edinburgh  who 
were  opposed  to  this  measure  were  deprived  of  the 
opportunity  enjoyed  by  their  opponents,  of  publicly 
expressing  their  sentiments;  but  a  petition  against 
the  claims,  which  was  drawn  up  by  Dr.  M'Crie,  and 
signed  by  13,150  names,  was  presented  to  the  House 
of  Commons. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

FROM    THE    PUBLICATION    OP    THE    REFORMATION    IN 
SPAIN,  TO  HIS  DEATH. 

1829—1835. 

Fko3I  the  publication  of  "Spain"  in  1S29,  to  the 
close  of  1831,  there  was  a  pause  in  our  author''s  lite- 

*The  requisition  for  this  meeting  was  signed  by  the  Solicitor- 
General  (John  Hope,  Esq.,)  who  found  himself  under  the 
necessity  of  vindicating  his  conduct  in  a  long  lettei'  which  he 
sent  to  the  newspapers,  and  which  I  cannot  say  that  I  fully 
understand;  but  the  facts  were  as  stated  in  the  text.  The  cor- 
respondence appeared  in  a  periodical  called  "  The  ScotlLsli 
rrotestaat,"  Nos.  v.  and  viii. 


UNION.  277 

rary  labours,  broken  only  by  a  critical  article  on  Sir 
James  Turner's  Memoirs  in  the  Edinburgh  Review 
for  April  1830.*  We  may  embrace  this  opportunity 
of  introducing  a  few  extracts  from  his  correspond- 
ence, containing  reflections  on  passing  events,  or 
illustrative  of  his  sentiments  on  various  topics  of  in- 
terest. His  mind,  though  naturally  cheerful  and 
serene,  was  liable  to  be  overcast  by  shades  of  sombre 
reflection,  which  the  sunshine  of  prosperity  only 
brought  out  into  darker  and  more  definite  outline. 
Congratulating  a  friend,  who  had  built  himself  a  cot- 
tage, on  his  entrance  into  his  new  abode,  in  the  end 
of  1829,  he  says: — "Our  fathers,  where  are  they? 
This  we  say  of  them  now,  and  our  children  in  a  little 
time  will  breathe  the  same  regret  for  us,  accom- 
panied with  a  sigh,  which,  being  interpreted,  says, 
'We  shall  in  a  little  be  where  they  are!'  O  earth, 
earth,  earth!  thou  art  the  true  proprietor  and  lord 
paramount  of  all  that  is  here  below.  Thou  givest 
forth  nothing  but  what  thou  receivest  again,  and 
thou  receivest  thine  own  with  usury.  Grass,  herbs, 
trees,  plants,  houses,  metals  base  and  precious,  and 
man  himself,  who  hath  rifled  thee  of  all  these,  and 
who  tears  thy  bosom,  and  digs  into  thy  bowels,  and 
measuring  thy  length  and  thy  breadth  proudly  walks 
over  thee,  as  if  he  were  more  than  dust, — all  shall 
return  to  thee,  and  find  a  grave  in  the  womb  from 
which  they  sprang !" 

"I  can  never,"  he  writes  at  the  same  time,  "en- 
tertain sanguine  hopes  of  those  who  break  off  their 
religious  connexions  on  account  of  personal  dissatis- 
factions. 1  am  told  that  Providence  sometimes  over- 
rules these  for  opening  the  eyes  of  men  to  the  truth 
— and  that  is  true,  but  he  overrules  all  the  workings 
of  Satan.  I  am  to  have  an  interview  with  a  Baptist 
to-morrow,  who  has  been  hearing  me  regularly  for 

*  In  this  article,  which  may  be  published  among  his  miscella- 
neous pieces,  he  enters,  at  some  length,  into  the  history  of  the 
period  occupied  by  Turner's  Memoirs,  and  canvasses  the  degree 
of  reliance  due  to  the  testimony  of  that  unprincipled  goldado. 

21 


278  LIFE   OF  DR.   M'CRIE. 

several  months.  Is  it  not  a  difficult  thing  to  strike 
the  medium  between  a  spirit  of  proselytizing,  and  a 
readiness  to  instruct — I  should  have  said,  a  zealous 
desire  to  recover  the  erring,  and  to  win  them  to  the 
way  of  truth?  One  evil  of  our  present  divisions  on  a 
well-constituted  mind  is,  1  should  think,  their  ten- 
dency to  check  and  cool  the  last  mentioned  feeling. 
But  I  must  not  enter  on  divisions.  That  would  lead 
to  elegiac  strains,  which  are  unfit  for  the  close  of  a 
letter." 

In  1830,  negotiations  for  union  between  the  body 
with  which  Dr.  INl'Crie  was  connected  and  the  Asso- 
ciate Synod  of  Original  Burghers,  were  resumed  and 
continued  for  some  time,  though,  unhappily,  without 
success.  His  correspondence  with  his  brethren  about 
this  time  is  much  occupied  with  earnest  pleadings  in 
behalf  of  this  union,  and  schemes  for  accomplishing 
it,  which  can  only  be  useful  now  as  demonstrating 
his  truly  catholic  spirit,  and  intense  anxiety  to  heal 
the  divisions  of  the  Church.  As  he  approached  the 
termination  of  his  course,  this  amiable  spirit  became 
more  and  more  conspicuous;  and,  though  still  as 
jealous  as  ever  of  sacrificing  truth  to  peace,  it  is  very 
apparent  that  he  became  more  sensible  to  the  injurious 
effects  of  division,  and  the  duty  and  necessity  of  union 
among  Presbyterians,  especially  such  as  were  friendly 
to  the  cause  of  the  Reformation.  "I  do  not  see,"  he 
writes  ISth  May  1S30,  "how  our  melancholy  divi- 
sions can  ever  be  healed,  or  even  peace  be  long  pre- 
served in  any  body,  unless  the  principle  of  allowing 
for  private  opinion  be  acted  upon.  If  all  the  truths 
or  principles  of  religion  involved  in  a  controversy 
are  asserted,  and  if  the  offensive  practice  [the  swear- 
ing of  Burgess  oaths]  is  put  down,  and  legal  security 
provided  against  its  revival,  I  really  must  think  that 
a  scriptural  ground  for  union  is  laid,  so  far  as  that 
controversy  is  concerned.  I  would  be  afraid  to  in- 
sist for  more,  or  to  prevent  the  direct  influence  of 
Bible  forbearance  on  such  a  state  of  things.  In  this 
manner  I  think  the  dissension  as  to  the  Public  Rcso- 


DEATH  OF  DR.  THOMSON.  279 

lutions  ought  to  have  been  settled  before  the  Restora- 
tion; and  our  fathers  were  not,  or  rather  the  cause 
they  maintained  was  not,  in  greater  danger  from  per- 
secution than  we  and  the  cause  we  maintain  are  in 
from  the  torrent  of  liberalism  and  an  Anti-Reforma- 
tion spirit.  Will  our  divisions  have  a  less  hurtful 
effect  than  theirs  had?  Better  sink  than  throw  away 
the  truth;  but  if  we  think  we  have  the  truth,  and  that 
it  is  in  danger  of  sinking  with  us,  this  should  be  a 
strong  inducement  to  us  to  use  all  lawful  means  for 
self-preservation." 

The  lamented  death  of  Dr.  Thomson,  on  the  9th 
February  1831,  inflicted  a  severe  shock  on  the  feel- 
ings of  the  subject  of  our  memoir.  The  alarming 
suddenness  of  the  stroke — their  long,  and,  except  on 
one  point,  most  harmonious  co-operation  in  public 
life — the  frequent  contests  in  which  they  had  fought 
side  by  side — and  above  all,  the  irreparable  loss  which 
the  cause  of  truth  sustained  in  the  removal  of  such 
an  able  and  dauntless  champion,  cut  down  in  the  mid 
career  of  his  usefulness,  and  at  a  time  when  his  talents 
were  never  more  required — all  contributed  to  enhance 
the  grief  which  he  felt  for  him  as  a  private  friend. 
On  the  Sabbath  immediately  succeeding  his  decease, 
he  gave  vent  to  his  feelings  in  an  impassioned  pero- 
ration to  his  sermon,  of  which  the  following  is  the 
substance: — "Brethren,  pray  for  us;  and  let  your 
first  and  last  petition  be  hwnilily.  Once,  yea  twice, 
has  a  voice  cried  to  the  ministers  of  this  city,  and 
again,  since  we  last  met,  it  hath  cried  with  the  sound 
of  a  trumpet,  'All  flesh  is  grass,  and  all  the  goodli- 
ness  thereof  is  as  the  flower  of  the  field !'  The  dis- 
pensation to  which  I  refer  has  produced  a  deep  sen- 
sation :  0  that  it  may  be  permanent  and  salutary! 
The  time  has  not  come  at  which  ceremony  permits 
the  dead  to  be  spoken  of  in  public.  But  I  hasten  to 
say  the  little  which  I  have  to  say,  especially  as  it  is 
not  in  the  way  of  eulogy.  Others  will  praise  him: 
as  for  me — 1  can  only  deplore  him!  And  my  de- 
ploration  shall  not  turn  on  the  splendid  talents  with 


280  LIFE  OF  DR.   M'CKIE, 

which  his  Master  adorned  him — the  vigour  of  his 
understanding — the  grasp  of  his  intellect,  or  the  un- 
rivalled force  of  his  masculine  eloquence — but  on  his 
honest,  firm,  unflinching,  fearless  independence  of 
mind — a  quality  eminently  required  in  the  present 
time,  in  which  I  may  say  he  was  single  among  his 
fellows,  and  which  claimed  for  him  respect,  as  well 
as  forbearance,  even  when  it  betrayed  its  possessor 
into  excess." 

Dr.  M'Crie,  as  one  of  the  most  intimate  friends  of 
the  deceased,  was  requested  to  draw  up  a  sketch  of 
Dr.  Thomson's  character  for  the  newspapers;  and 
this,  though  it  has  been  often  printed,  shall  be  given 
in  the  Appendix,  as  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  one 
whom  he  so  highly  respected  and  admired.  There 
is  one  fact  in  Dr.  Thomson's  history,  brought  out  in 
this  notice,  which  cannot  be  too  frequently  repeated: 
— "The  fact  is,  though  hitherto  known  to  few,  and 
the  time  is  now  come  for  revealing  it,  that  some  of 
those  effusions  which  were  most  objectionable,  and 
exposed  him  to  the  greatest  obloquy,  were  neither 
composed  by  Dr.  Thomson,  nor  seen  by  him  until 
they  were  published  to  the  world;  and  that,  in  one 
instance,  which  has  been  the  cause  of  the  most  un- 
sparing abuse,  he  paid  the  expenses  of  a  prosecution, 
and  submitted  to  make  a  public  apology,  for  an  offence 
of  which  he  was  innocent  as  the  child  unborn,  rather 
than  give  up  the  name  of  the  friend  who  was  morally 
responsible  for  the  deed, — an  example  of  generous 
self-devotion  which  has  few  parallels." 

It  was  shortlv  after  this  time  that  he  drew  up  those 
papers  on  the  "Marrow  Controversy,"  as  it  has  been 
called,  which  appeared  in  the  Christian  Instructor. 
To  this  subject  his  attention  had  been  invited  by  his 
truly  excellent  friend  Dr.  Charles  Watson,  then  mi- 
nister of  Burntisland,  by  whom  the  task  of  editing 
the  Instructor  w^as  undertaken  for  a  short  time  after 
Dr.  Thomson's  death.  It  ma}'  be  remarked  that  this 
controversy  derived  its  name  from  a  book  entitled 
the  "Marrow  of  Modern  Divinity,"  which  was  little 


THE  MARROW  CONTROVERSY,  281 

more  than  a  compilation  of  extracts  chiefly  from  Pro- 
testant writers  of  the  IGth  and  17th  centuries  on  the 
question  of  jusfification,  and  tlie  distinction  between 
the  Law  and  the  Gospel,  j^rosecufed   in  the  form  of 
dialogue.     This   book,   originally  composed    by  an 
Englishman,  named  Edward  Fislier,  was  republished 
in  171S  by  Mr.  Hogg,  minister  of  Carnock,  at  the 
earnest  recommendation  of  Mr.  Boston,  who  had  dis- 
covered  its  excellence,  and  who  afterwards  added  a 
number  of  ample  notes  in  explanation  and  defence  of 
its  doctrines.     It  may  be  easily  supposed,  that  a  trea- 
tise which  required  such  a  commentary  was  not  free 
from  unguarded  expressions;  but  the  consideration 
that  some  of  the  strongest  of  these  expressions  were 
borrowed  from  the  writings  of  our  most  eminent  re- 
formers, and  that  the  latter  part  of  the  treatise  was 
expressly  levelled  against  the  antinomian  extreme, 
ought  to  have  protected  it  from  the  fate  which  it  ex- 
perienced.    The  broad  terms  in  which  the  author 
asserted  the  entire  freedom  of  the  believer  from  the 
law  as  a  covenant  of  works,  alarmed  the  jealousy  of 
the  moderate  party  in  the  Church;  and  in  1720,  the 
Assembly  passed  an  act  condemning  the  "Marrow," 
strictly  discharging  all  the  ministers  of  the  Church 
from  saying  any  thing  in   its  favour,  by  printing, 
writing,  or  preaching,  and  enjoining  them  to  warn 
their  people  against  reading  it.     This  Act  was  la- 
mented at  the  time,  by  many  of  the  most  estimable 
ministers  of  the  Church,  not  so  much  on  account  of 
the  book  in  question,  as  of  the  precious  truths  of  the 
Gospel  which   were  involved    in   the  controversy, 
and  on  which  the  Assembly  had  affixed  the  odious 
stigma  of  Antinomianism.     There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  disaffection  manifested  at  this  period  to  the 
doctrines  of  grace,  as  taught  at  the  Reformation,  pre- 
pared the  way  for  the  long  reign  of  that  frigid  Semi- 
Arminianism  which  prevailed  during  the  succeeding 
portion  of  the  last  century.     The  Seceders  keenly 
took  up  the  cause  of  the  "Marrow,"  and  have  always 
identilicd  its  distinguishing  principles  with  the  pure 
24* 


282  LIFE  OP  DR.  M'CRIE. 

preaching  of  the  Gospel,  And  there  is  reason  to 
hope,  that  as  the  Church  of  Scotland  becomes  more 
impregnated  with  sound  evangelical  doctrine,  the 
prejudices  once  entertained  against  these  principles 
will  gradually  give  way. 

Such  was  the  character  of  the  controversy  to  which 
Dr.  M'Crie  now  turned  his  attention;  and  with  his 
wonted  zeal,  somewhat  abated  by  increasing  infirmi- 
ties, he  began  a  course  of  reading  with  the  view  of 
exploring  the  question  to  its  foundation.  He  was 
quite  sensible  of  his  propensity  to  push  his  inquiries 
into  the  minute  ramifications  of  a  subject  which  in- 
terested him,  too  far  perhaps  for  popular  effect,  or 
farther  at  least  tlian  was  required  for  practical  pur- 
poses; and  such  perhaps  has  been  the  case  with  the 
papers  to  which  we  now  refer.  It  was  his  intention 
to  have  written  a  complete  history  of  the  various 
opinions  on  the  points  involved  in  this  controversy, 
in  Scotland,  England  and  America.  This  design  he 
carried  only  partially  into  execution;  but  he  has  left 
in  manuscript  a  continuation  of  the  papers  in  the 
Instructor,  giving  an  account  of  the  controversy  as 
managed  in  England.*  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  he 
did  not  live  to  condense  the  valuable  information 
which  these  papers  contain,  and  apply  the  principles 
which  they  advocate  to  the  various  forms  which  the 
controversy  has  assumed  in  modern  times.  Being  a 
stanch  advocate  of  the  "Marrow,"  and  deeply  con- 
vinced that  the  truths  set  forth  in  that  publication, 
how  much  soever  they  may  have  suffered  in  the  es- 
timation of  some,  from  the  somewhat  paradoxical 
^manner  in  which  they  are  expressed,  lie  at  the  foun- 
dation of  sound  views,  and  a  correct  experience  of 
(the  Gospel  system,  he  was  not  more  offended  at  the 
perversion  and  abuse  of  these  truths,  exhibited  in  the 
speculations  of  the  Rowites,  than  he  was  hurt  at  the 
manner  in  which  the  crudities  of  that  system,  justly 

*  These  papers,  with  the  continuation,  will  be  published  with 
ills  Miscellaneous  pieces. 


THE  MARROW  CONTROVERSY.  283 

condemned  by  the  General  Assembly,  had  been  by 
many  confoundedwith  the  doctrhiesof  the  "Marrovv" 
divines.  Such,  however,  was  his  aversion  to  mingle 
in  modern  contests,  and  such  the  delicacy  he  felt  from 
the  position  in  which  he  stood  to  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land, that  he  shrunk  from  the  task.  "So  far  as  I  can 
judge  at  present,"  he  says  Dec.  20,  1831,  "I  would 
not  be  disposed  to  involve  myself  with  the  various 
mushroom  systems,  or  rather  no-systems,  which  .have 
sprung  up  so  plentifully  in  our  times — I  should  not 
€ven  wish  to  dip  into  Row  ism.  I  am  too  partial  to 
the  diving-bell,  and  therefore  need  to  circumscribe 
the  sphere  of  my  inquiries,  which  I  find  easier  than 
restraining  my  curiosity."  On  the  point  of  delicacy, 
he  was  so  fastidious  as  to  take  every  precaution  to 
conceal  his  authorship  of  the  papers  in  the  Instructor, 
and  he  felt  rather  annoyed  on  its  being  accidentally 
discovered. 

In  reply  to  Dr.  Watson,  who  expressed  a  wish  that 
he  could  be  prevailed  on  to  consider  what  he  had 
written  as  but  the  beginning  of  a  more  extended  view 
of  ecclesiastical  affairs  in  Scotland  during  the  ISlh 
century,  he  writes,  "The  field  you  point  out  is  in 
many  respects  very  inviting,  but  in  others  it  presents 
to  my  mind  what  is  very  repulsive,  both  in  regard 
to  the  Established  Church  and  to  the  Secession.  The 
difficulty  of  the  task  would  be  sufficient  to  deter  me; 
but  over  and  above  this,  I  would  not  be  reckoned, 
nor  would  I  judge  myself,  duly  qualified  on  the  head 
of  impartiality,  though  I  had  little  or  nothing  to  do 
in  the  affairs  which  marked  the  closing  section  of  the 
ISth  century.  We  perhaps  live  still  too  near  to  that 
age,  pregnant  with  important  events,  for  any  of  us  to 
view  its  transactions  with  a  thoroughly  unbiassed  eye. 
It  would,  however,  be  of  great  use  to  the  future  his- 
torian to  indicate  and  mark  the  sources  of  information, 
to  collect  scattered  materials,  and  preserve  valuable 
documents  which  are  in  danger  of  daily  perishing  or 
being  irrecoverably  lost.     A  valued  friend  and  guide 


284  LIFE   OF  DR.   M'CRIE. 

of  my  youth,^  five-and-twenty  years  ago,  drew  up 
the  plan  of  a  society  having  this  for  its  object.  There 
was  at  that  time  too  little  taste  for  the  subject  to  make 
the  proposal  acceptable,  and  I  doubt  there  is  not 
great  encouragement  for  now  reviving  it,  notwith- 
standing the  formidable  phalanx  of  devoted  friends  to 
the  profession  of  Church  History  which  has  arrayed 
itself  within  these  few  weeks." 

Again  writing  to  the  same  valued  correspondent, 
January  9,  1832,  he  says,  "I  approve  of  your  idea 
as  to  a  preliminary  chapter,  giving  an  historical  sketch 
of  the  doctrine  of  grace  from  the  time  of  the  Refor- 
mation, and  shall  attempt  something  of  that  kind,  if 
I  go  on  with  the  work  as  proposed.  But  the  task  is 
not  without  its  difficulties.  It  is  very  satisfying  to 
find  you  so  far  coinciding  with  any  views  I  have 
formed  of  the  decline  (during  the  last  century,)  both 
in  England  and  in  Scotland,  from  the  doctrine  of  the 
Reformers,  and  the  general  causes  which  led  to  it. 
I  have  more  than  once  regretted  that  the  state  of  your 
health  is  such  as  to  preclude  me  from  having  that  oral 
communication  with  you  which  I  should  have  been 
disposed  to  improve  by  talking  over  certain  views 
that  have  occurred  to  my  mind;  for  I  deem  it  a  great 
advantage  to  be  able  to  submit  my  thoughts  to  one 
on  whose  judgment  I  can  place  confidence,  but  whose 
habits  of  thinking  have  been,  by  education  and  inter- 
course, formed  in  a  manner  somewhat  different  from 
my  own.  It  serves  both  to  correct  and  to  confirm. 
The  subject  is  delicate,  and  1  have  reached  that  period 
of  life  at  which  (if  a  person  is  not  reckless  or  ver}'- 
conceited)  caution  is  apt  to  degenerate  into  painful 
diffidence  and  irresolution. 

"It  appears  to  me  that  the  great  difference  between 
the  ancient  Anti-Pelagians  and  the  Reformers,  lies  in 
this — that,  while  both  arc  advocates  for  grace,  the 
former  considered  it  chiefly  in  relation  to  the  change 
which  it  effects  on  the  heart,  the  latter  in  relation  to 

*  Professor  Brjice, 


THE  MARROW  CONTROVERSY.  285 

the  change  which  it  produces  on  the  state,  as  divines 
express  it,  of  the  sinner.  In  the  writings  of  Augus- 
tine, for  example,  the  great  champion  of  grace  among 
the  fathers,  I  have  found  little  about  iveQ  justification; 
in  the  writings  of  Luther  again,  this  is  the  grand 
point — ''Jlrliculus  slanlis  ac  cadentis  ecdesicc."  This 
I  look  upon  as  the  glory  of  the  Reformation — the 
great  advancement  in  evangelical  light  beyond  what 
had  been  attained  by  the  witnesses  of  the  truth  in  the 
Pelagian  or  in  the  Antichristian  ages.  Do  not  you 
think  there  is  a  similar  difference  between  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Jansenists  and  of  the  Reformers?  At 
least,  in  the  works  of  Pascal,  Arnauld  and  Nicole,! 
find  the  grace  of  God  preventing  and  producing  the 
first  good  desire,  volition  and  thought  in  the  heart  of 
man;  but  very  little,  and  nothing  very  decisive,  as 
to  the  grace  of  God  in  freely  justifying  the  sinner  on 
the  sole  ground  of  the  atonement  and  surety-righte- 
ousness of  Christ. 

"I  have  thought  I  perceived  a  change  in  the  tone 
and  phraseology  of  the  reformed  divines  early  in  the 
17th  century.  Whether  it  arose  from  a  feeling  of 
difiiculty  in  defending  the  strong  expressions  of  the 
first  Reformers  against  the  subtle  arguments  of  Bel- 
larmine  and  other  acute  champions  of  Rome,  or 
whether  it  may  be  traced  to  the  working  of  the  spirit 
which  produced  Arminianism,  I  cannot  positively 
determine.  But  I  am  chiefly  anxious  to  obtain  satis- 
faction as  to  tlie  influence  which  the  Arminian  con- 
troversy exerted  on  the  strain  of  Calvinistic  writing. 
It  has  been  said,  by  an  authority  on  which  I  am  far 
from  implicitly  relying  [Sandeman,]  that  after  that 
period,  'in  place  of  free  justification  by  God's  grace 
through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ's  blood, 
much  insisted  on  by  the  Reformers — they  (the  Cal- 
vinistic divines  and  preachers)  now  began  to  insist 
much  more  in  their  sermons  on  free  electing  grace, 
but  especially  on  the  efficacious  power  of  that  grace 
in  the  conversion  of  the  elect,  calling  them  efiec- 
tually,  regenerating,  &.c. — The  effect  of  this  strain  of 


286  LIFE  OF  DR.  M^CRIE. 

doctrine  upon  them  that  hearkened  to  them  was  their 
seeking  peace  with  God  and  rest  to  their  consciences 
by  what  they  might  feel  in  themselves,  and  the  exer- 
cise of  their  souls  in  compliance  with  the  call  to  faith 
and  repentance.'  It  is  added  that  '  Gomarus,'  the 
first  opponent  of  Arminius,  was  an  exception  to  this 
remark,  and  'was  chiefly  concerned  about  the  ground 
of  acceptance  witb  God.'  Now,  though  I  am  not 
prepared  to  acquiesce  in  the  justice  of  this  charge  as 
laid,  yet  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  an  engrossing  at- 
tention to  the  points  controverted  by  Van  Harmin 
and  his  followers  was  produced  (as  is  ordinarily  the 
case  in  all  controversies;)  and  that  preachers  and  prac- 
tical writers  became  more  shy  than  formerly  in  using 
the  universal  terms  employed  in  Scripture,  in  pro- 
posing the  Gospel  remedy,  and  that  they  were  more 
hampered  (to  use  an  expressive  Scots  word)  than  was 
necessary,  either  from  the  word  of  God,  or  their  own 
declared  principles  concerning  particular  redemption, 
in  proclaiming  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  to  sinners, 
and  in  calling  on  them  to  believe  in  the  Saviour. 
Here  it  is  that  I  am  disposed  to  think  the  advantage 
of  the  Marrow  doctrine  lies — while  it  holds  forth  a 
complete  salvation  (which  can  be  done  only  on  the 
principle  of  particular  redemption,)  it  presents  a  re- 
vealed ground — call  it  an  offer,  a  promise,  or  a  deed 
of  gift  or  grant  (the  phrase  is  immaterial)  from  God, 
warranting  sinners  as  such,  irrespective  of  any  decree, 
or  any  qualifications  connected  with  the  decree, 
to  believe  in,  receive  and  rest  upon  Christ  for  all 
they  need  for  their  recovery  and  happiness,  including 
deliverance  from  sin  and  all  its  consequences.  An 
offer,  provided  it  is  perfectly  free,  entitles  the  person 
to  whom  it  is  made,  to  enter  presently  on  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  thing  offered,  and  yet  does  not  bind 
the  oflferer,  provided  his  kindness  is  rejected,  or 
even  neglected.  Is  not  a  promise  to  be  considered 
in  the  same  light,  provided  it  is  absolutely  free  on 
the  part  of  the  promiser,  and  those  to  whom  it 
is  made  have  no  previous  claim  upon  him?     The 


THE  MARROW  CONTROVERSY.  287 

promise,  however  unconditional,  if  not  accepted,  does 
not  lay  the  promisor  under  ohligation  to  perform,  and 
yet  the  accepter  has  the  fullest  security  for  the  thing 
promised,  and  may  draw  upon  the  deed  or  writing. 
So  say  civilians;  and  I  am  disposed  to  think  that 
they  proceed  upon  a  moral  ground. — But  I  am  losing 
the  thread  of  history,  and  getting  Into  argument. 

"The  scheme  of  the  New  Methodists,  as  they  were 
called  in  France,  who  about  the  middle  of  the  17th 
century  attempted  a  species  of  conciliation  between 
Calvinists  and  Arminians  on  the  heads  of  election  and 
the  extent  of  the  death  of  Christ,  added  to  the  em- 
barrassment which  was  still  more  increased  by  the 
Antinomianism  of  the  Cromwellian  period,  to  which 
you  justly  refer  as  producing  a  partial  revulsion  from 
evangelical  doctrine.  This,  as  well  as  a  passion  for 
accommodating  differences,  led  the  excellent  Baxter 
astray.  His  influence  was  great  on  the  English  Pres- 
byterians, The  republication  of  Dr.  Crisp's  works 
frightened  many  of  the  independents  at  the  time  of 
the  Revolution.  The  Dissenters  could  not  fail  being 
affected  by  the  Arminianism  of  the  English  Church; 
and  even  those  of  them  who  disliked  it,  were  afraid 
of  bringing  odium  on  their  cause  by  countenancing 
any  thing  which  might  give  the  ruling  clergy  an  oc- 
casion of  accusing  them  of  Antinomianism.  There 
is  no  writer  of  whom  I  am  fonder  than  Henry;  but  it 
is  impossible  not  to  perceive  that  Baxterian  or  Neo- 
nomian  sentiments  or  expressions  frequently  occur  in 
his  admirable  Commentary.  I  never  look  into  his 
continuators. 

'•Thus,  my  dear  Sir,  I  have  given  you,  without  in- 
tending it  when  I  began,anoutlineof  what  you  wished 
by  way  of  Preliminary." 

I  am  tempted  to  give  anotlier  extract  or  two  froni 
this  valuable  correspondence,  in  illustration  of  Dr. 
M'Crie's  views  of  an  important  subject — the  free 
offer  of  the  Gospel;  and  the  more  so,  that,  though 
they  were  "mere  hints  thrown  out  raptim,"  as  he 
says,  they  will  supply,  in  some  measure,  the  argu- 


288  LIFE   OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

mentatlve  part  of  the  treatise  which  he  did  not  live 
to  complete. 

March  15. — "Your  remarks  on  the  extracts  from 
Mr.  Gib  were  very  gratifying.  He  was  acute,  but 
was  sometimes  like  a  man  who  cuts  his  own  finger  by 
the  too  fine  edge  which  he  has  given  to  his  instrument. 
I  never  could  receive,  nor  indeed  well  apprehend,  his 
doctrine  about  the  two  interests,  both  of  them  objects 
of  faith,  as  taught  in  the  passages  extracted,*  and  in 
a  recommendatory  preface  which  he  wrote  to  an  edi- 
tion of  Dr.  Owen  on  Redemption:  nor  can  I  reconcile 
it  with  JMarroio  doctrine,  of  which  he  was  a  warm 
friend,  but  according  to  which  the  believer  regards 
Christ  as  his,  not  in  possession,  but  in  the  free  offer 
of  tbe  Gospel." 

April  12. — "  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  we  are 
apt  to  be  deceived  by  the  ambiguity  of  the  word  'in- 
terest as  used  in  reference  to  tlie  Gospel  salvation,  and 
perhaps  the  same  remark  applies  to  the  word  right. 
If  any  benefit  is  offered  to  a  person,  whether  the  offer 
be  free  or  conditional,  and  in  whatever  manner  the 
person  may  feel  disposed  towards  it,  he  has  an  itilerest 
in  the  matter.  It  concerns  or  interests  him.  This  is 
not  exactly  what  we  mean  when  we  speak  of  the 
common  interest  of  Gospel  hearers;  we  mean  a  right 
of  claim  (to  use  the  old  phrase)  to  make  the  benefit 
our  own,  by  appropriating  it  in  the  case  of  a  free 
gift,  or  by  performing  the  condition,  if  it  was  offered 
on  terms.  But  besides  this,  we  apply  the  word  in- 
terest to  the  actual  possession  or  enjoyment  of  the 
benefit;  and  in  this  sense  the  phrase,  an  interest  in 
Christ,  or  in  salvation,  has  been  generally  used  by 
divines.  Whether  this  be  correct  language  or  not,  I 
shall  not  say,  but  humbly  think  that  it  has  had  a  ten- 
dency to  perplex,  or  at  least  introduce  a  confusion  of 
ideas  into  the  subject.  Is  the  Gospel  gift  or  grant 
free,  or  is  it  conditional?  If  the  latter,  then  we 
come  into  possession  of  the  thing  gifted  or  granted 

*  Gib's  Display,  vol.  ii.,  p.  1G9 — 174. 


THE  MAUnoW  CONTROVERSY.  2S9 

on  the  performance  of  the  condition,  whatever  that 
may  be;  and  a  consciousness  of  that  performance  is 
necessary  to  any  assurtmce  of  our  obtaining  the  be- 
nefit, or  having  a  chiim  to  it.  If  the  former,  then 
we  come  into  possession  by  appropriating  it,  or  by  a 
believing  reception  of  it  as  ours  by  the  free  gift  of 
the  donor.  And  in  this  case  there  is  an  assurance  of 
the  benefit,  just  as  the  beggar  in  taking  the  alms 
offered  him  is  assured  they  are  his  (not  because  they 
are  possessed,)  and  that  he  shall  have  all  the  benefit 
of  them;  and  just  as  the  person  who  presents  a  pro- 
missory-note, granted  by  a  good  hand,  is  persuaded 
or  assured  that  he  shall  obtain  a  sum  specified  in  it; 
only,  in  the  case  under  our  consideration,  the  taking 
or  the  presenting,  and  the  persuasion  or  assurance, 
are  not  two  things,  but  identical;  this  being  the  pe- 
culiarity of  the  Gospel,  that  faith  (not  any  other  act, 
mental  or  corporeal)  is  the  instituted  means  of  put- 
ting the  sinner  legally  (so  to  speak)  in  possession  of 
the  good  exhibited  and  conveyed  by  the  testimony, 
— God  sustaining  it  in  this  way  according  to  his  plan 
of  mercy,  and  gracious  declarations.  "  He  that  be- 
lieveth  shall  be  saved."  "To  him  that  worketh  not, 
but  believeth  on  him  that  justifieth  the  ungodly,  his 
faith  is  counted  for  righteousness.'^  "  According  to 
thy  faith,  so  be  it  unto  thee,"  &c. 

"  In  the  Gospel,  there  are  not  only  general  pro- 
positions or  declarations,  ascertaining  the  perfection 
of  Christ's  work, — that  he  died  for  sins,  procured 
their  remission,  and  did  all  that  was  necessary  to  sa- 
tisfy divine  justice  and  to  render  it  a  righteous 
thing  for  God  to  receive  the  rebel  back  to  his  favour; 
but  tills  is  so  revealed  as  to  aflbrd  the  amplest  ground 
and  warrant  to  all  to  take  the  benefit  of  it.  This 
constitutes  the  message  glad  tidings.  "  Unto  you  is 
born  a  Saviour — To  you  is  the  word  of  this  salva- 
tion sent — Through  this  man  is  preached  unto  you 
the  forgiveness  of  sins."  That  which  gives  to  the 
doctrine  concerning  Christ,  his  ability,  the  perfection 
of  his  atonement,  &c,  this  bearing  and  application— 
35 


2D0  LIFE  OP  DR.   M'cniE. 

call  it  offer,  grant,  or  promise — makes  it  gospel  to 
me.  It  may  be  expressed,  as  it  often  is,  explicitly 
in  Scripture,  but  it  is  implied  even  in  the  most  ge- 
neral enunciation  of  its  doctrines;  and  it  is  under- 
stood and  taken  for  granted  even  by  those  who 
think  they  confine  themselves  to  the  general  truth, 
provided  they  derive  any  relief  or  benefit  from  it; 
just  as  the  inhabitants  of  a  district,  ready  to  perish 
of  famine,  would  be  relieved  by  hearing  that  a  king's 
ship  had  arrived  in  a  neighbouring  port  laden  with 
corn — the  proclamation,  by  royal  authority,  of  the 
fact,  would  give  them  joy,  though  unaccompanied  at 
first  by  any  particular  notification,  and  they  would 
supply  the  words,  "Come — buy  and  eat,  yea,  with- 
out money  and  without  price."  They  would  supply 
such  words,  not  by  their  wishes  merely,  but  by  com- 
paring their  condition  with  the  chai'acter  of  the  prince 
as  ascertained  by  the  fact  combined  with  the  procla- 
mation. Still,  however,  the  explicit  statements  of 
the  warrant  would  be  of  the  greatest  importance,  and 
in  this  respect  God  "has  not  left  himself  without 
witness." 

"  '  But  what  signifies  an  offer  or  grant  that  con- 
veys nothing?"  It  signifies  a  great  deal  to  him  that 
is  convinced  he  has  nothing — it  is  all  to  him  who  is 
ready  to  receive. — "  But  how  can  1  believe  that  to  be 
mine,  which  is  not  mine,  and  may  never  be  mine?" 
If  a  friend  were  to  tell  down  a  sum  of  money  for 
you  on  the  table,  or  authorize  you  to  draw  upon  him 
for  it,  or  inform  you  that  he  had  set  aside  for  you  a 
certain  property,  could  you  not  believe  it  was  yours? 
Yet  you  may  never  enjoy  it;  you  may  disbelieve 
him,  you  may  spurn,  despise,  or  neglect  his  gift,  and 
he  may  appropriate  it  to  himself,  or  bestow  it  on  an.- 
other. — "  But  if  God,  as  you  say,  has  given  his  Son, 
and  eternal  life  in  him,  to  the  hearers  of  the  Gospel, 
by  a  free  and  unconditional  grant,  how  can  he  be 
true  and  faithful  if  any  of  them  come  short  of  il?" 
Reflect  on  the  case  of  yourself  and  friend  above  sup- 
posed, and  give  the  answer.     A  man  is  not  bound  to 


THE  MARnOW  CONTROVERSY.  291 

pay  his  debts,  creditore  noienle  et  repngnante,  much 
less  is  he  bound  to  make  his  gifts  available  on  a  cor- 
responding supposition.  You  do  not  expect  to  re- 
ceive money  for  a  bill  which  you  hold  unless  you 
write  your  name  on  the  back.  Shall  our  unbelief 
mar  the  faithfulness  of  a  good  and  promising  God? 
I  might  have  referred  to  the  doctrine  laid  down  in 
the  Roman  Digests,  as  conjmented  on  by  civilians, 
as  to  the  difference  between  pactum  and  pollicitalio, 
which  are  described  thus,  Paclum  est  duorum  consensus 
atque  convenlio:  polUcilatio  vero,  offer entis  solius  promis' 
sum.  The  amount  of  the  doctrine  is,  a  simple  pro- 
mise is  not  binding  unless  accepted. 

"Forgive  me,  my  dear  Sir,  for  running  on  in  this 
strain,  and  writing  as  if  I  were  dictating,  or  laying 
down  self-evident  axioms.  Mind  I  am  contending 
with  or  ralher  seeking  to  escape  from  my  meagrim,* 
and  you  will  not  wonder  that  I  treat  my  subject 
in  a  similar  way. — What  dry  stuff  would  our  letters 
be  to  our  keen-set  politicians,  who  are  at  present 
gaping  for  news  about  the  Reform  Bill!  Marrow 
of  Modern  Divinity!  A  dry  bill  of  fare  indeed! 
— Yet  much  depends  on  the  fate  of  this  all-engross- 
ing Bill." 

From  these  extracts  it  will  be  seen  how  much  his 
mind  was  occupied  with  this  subject;  and  it  is  inte- 
resting to  observe,  that  as  he  approached  the  termi- 
nation of  his  life  and  literary  career,  his  studies  were 
directed  to  topics  more  immediately  relating  to  "  the 
common  salvation."  "I  have  been  revising,"  he  says 
to  another  correspondent,  in  January  1832,  "  my 
doctrinal  reading  (rather  historico-polemical  reading,) 
and  taking  a  few  notes;  but  I  am  now  frightened  at 
the  shadow  of  what  I  used  once  to  take  a  pleasure 
in  tossing  up  and  down.  I  have  carved  out  too  large 
work  for  my  leisure  and  strength.  Besides,  I  have 
lost  any  turn  or  taste  I  ever  had  for  polemics,  and 
would  much  ralher  become  a  conciliator,  and,  like 

*  He  had  at  this  time  a  severe  attack  of  something  like  tic 
dotoureux. 


292  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE, 

Witsius,  write  an  Irenkum.  However,  I  have  at  least, 
by  what  1  have  done,  got  a  treat  in  the  writings  of 
Hervey.  Have  you  read  his  letters,  or  his  three  ser- 
mons entitled,  "The  Time  of  Danger,  the  Means  of 
Safety?"  The  former  exhibit  a  most  charming  com- 
bination of  love  of  learning,  and  deep  evangelical 
piety;  and  the  latter,  especially  the  two  first,  are 
the  best  sermons  I  have  read." 

But  with  all  this  growing  aversion  to  polemical 
and  party  strifes,  he  could  not  avoid  taking  some 
interest  in  the  important  public  questions  which  now 
began  to  agitate  the  religious  world.  In  the  Volun- 
tary controversy,  which  may  be  said  to  have  com- 
menced with  the  year  1S32,  he  never  took  any  ac- 
tive or  prominent  part.  On  the  grand  principles  in- 
volved in  this  question,  so  far  as  these  related  to  the 
duty  of  nations  and  their  rulers  to  recognise,  coun- 
tenance and  support  the  true  religion,  he  entertained 
to  the  last  the  opinions  for  which  he  had  contended 
and  suffered  in  early  life,  in  defence  of  which  he 
had  written,  and  to  the  assertion  of  which  he  was 
pledged  by  his  public  profession.  To  have  lived  to 
see  the  importance  of  these  principles  recognised  by 
such  a  large  portion  of  the  community — the  faithful 
appearance  which  he  and  his  brethren  had  made  for 
them,  at  a  time  when  they  were  considered  as  con- 
tending for  trifles,  at  length  publicly  appreciated 
and  applauded — and  his  "  Statement"  of  the  old  con- 
troversy, which  had  lain  for  so  many  years  in  ob- 
scurity, eagerly  sought  after,  republished,  and  quoted 
on  all  occasions  as  one  of  the  most  able  defences  of 
the  principle  of  Establishments — must  have  yielded 
him  no  small  gratification.  At  the  same  time,  the 
purely  fiscal  and  political  aspect  which  the  contro- 
versy assumed — the  bitterness  and  personal  animosity 
with  which  it  was  conducted — and,  above  all,  the 
position  which  he  held  as  a  Seceder,  conscientiously 
opposed  to  the  existing  establishments  on  the  ground 
of  corruptions  adhering  to  their  constitution  as  well 
as  administration, — induced  him  to  keep  aloof  from 


THE  VOLUNTARY  CONTROVERSY,       293 

the  debate.  The  sentiments  which  he  held,  both  on 
the  Voluntary  question,  and  that  of  return  to  the 
communion  of  the  Established  Church,  are  expressed 
in  an  address  by  the  Synod  of  original  Seceders,  en- 
tilled,  "  Vindication  of  the  Principles  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  in  relation  to  questions  presently  agi- 
tated," published  in  1S34,  which  passed  through  his 
hands  before  it  was  submitted  to  the  Synod  or  the 
public.  As  we  have  already  remarked,  Dr.  M'Crie's 
sentiments  on  this  question  went  much  deeper  than 
merely  approving  of  a  civil  establishment  of  religion, 
in  the  ordinary  sense  of  that  expression.  The  grand 
principle  for  wliich  he  contended  was,  that  it  is  the 
right  and  duty  (two  things  which  he  viewed  as  iden- 
tical) of  a  nation  in  its  collective  capacity ,jis  well  as 
of  a  man  in  his  individual  capacity,  to  decide  on  the 
true  religion,  and  having  decided,  to  recognise  and 
countenance  the  profession  of  it.  He  was  persuaded 
that  the  Voluntary  principle  was  not  only  untenable, 
but  was  incapable  of  defence,  except  on  grounds  in- 
consistent with  a  belief  in  divine  revelation,  and  in- 
directly but  infallibly  leading  to  infidelity.  The  civil 
ratification  of  a  peculiar  form  of  religion,  he  looked 
upon  merely  as  a  corollary  from  the  principle  we 
have  stated;  and  as  to  the  endowment  of  the  church, 
this  he  regarded  merely  as  a  subsidiary  arrangement, 
highly  desirable  where  it  could  be  obtained,  but  the 
expediency  of  which,  in  all  circumstances  of  a  church 
or  state,  he  was  not  disposed  to  maintain. 

This  was  not  a  mere  theory,  or  abstract  principle, 
with  Dr.  M'Crie,  In  a  letter  to  a  brother,  who  was 
anxious  to  vindicate  the  Reformation  cause,  without 
committing  himself  on  the  subject  of  establishments, 
he  says,  "  I  can  only  say  that  I  am  fully  satisfied,  not 
only  of  the  lawfulness  of  establishments  in  the  ab-' 
slracl,  but  also  of  that  which  was  adopted  by  our  re- 
forming ancestors.  I  consider  it  as  entering  essen- 
tially into  the  Reformation  for  which  Seceders  have 
always  contended,  and  I  am  persuaded  that  any  de- 
fence of  it  which  excludes  this,  must  not  only  be  dc- 
25* 


294  LIFE  OF  DR.  m'cRIE. 

fective,  but  must  be  inconclusive  and  unsatisfactory 
to  all  intelligent  persons  of  whatever  sentiments. 
I  despair  of  seeing  any  satisfactory  defence  of  the 
permanent  obligation  of  our  Covenants  that  does  not 
proceed  on  this  principle."  He  condemned  , the 
abuses  which  clung  to  our  establishments,  not  the 
principle  of  an  establishment;  and  in  condemning 
ihese  abuses,  he  could  point  to  a  definite  model, 
which  once  existed  in  great  splendour.  He  could  not, 
however,  wholly  approve  even  of  the  constitution  of 
the  present  establishment.  The  following  extract 
from  the  document  we  have  mentioned,  may  explain 
the  position  in  which  he  stood  in  regard  to  it: — 
"  Our  objections  to  the  established  Church  of  Scot- 
land are  not  confined  to  her  administration:  we  can- 
not unreservedly  approve  of  her  constitution  as  it 
was  established  at  the  Revolution.  Though  our  fa- 
thers were  in  communion  with  that  Church,  yet  they, 
together  with  many  faithful  men  who  died  before 
the  Secession,  and  some  who  continued  in  the  Esta- 
blishment after  that  event,  were  all  along  dissatisfied 
with  several  things  in  the  settlement  of  religion  at 
the  Revolution,  and  in  the  ratification  of  it  at  the 
union  between  Scotland  and  England.  The  first  Se- 
ceders,  in  their  Judicial  Testimony  and  Declaration 
of  Principles,  specified  several  important  points  with 
respect  to  which  that  settlement  involved  a  sinful 
departure  from  a  previous  settlement  of  religion  in 
Scotland  (that,  namely,  between  1G38  and  1650,) 
which  they  distinctly  held  forth  as  exhibiting  the 
model,  in  jioint  of  Scriptural  purity  and  order,  of 
that  reformed  constitution  to  which  they  sought  by 
their  contendings  to  bring  back  the  church  of  their 
native  land.  This  Synod  occupy  the  same  ground 
with  the  first  Seceders.  They  are  aware  that  the 
Established  Church  of  Scotland  has  it  not  in  her  pow- 
er to  correct  all  the  evils  of  the  Revolution  settle- 
ment which  they  feel  themselves  bound  to  point  out; 
but  they  cannot  warrantably  quit  their  position  of  se- 
cession, until  the  Established  Church  show  a  dispo^ 


THE  VOLUNTARY  CONTROVERSY.       295 

sition  to  return  to  that  reformed  constitution,  by- 
using  means  to  correct  what  is  inconsistent  with  it, 
so  far  as  is  competent  to  her,  in  the  use  of  those 
powers  which  belong  to  her  as  an  ecclesiastical  and 
independent  society  under  Christ  her  Head,  and  by 
due  application  to  the  State  for  having  those  laws 
rescinded  or  altered  which  afi'ect  her  purity  and 
abridge  her  freedom.  It  will  be  found,  on  a  careful 
and  candid  examination,  that  a  great  part  of  the 
evils,  in  point  of  administration,  which  are  charge- 
able on  the  Church  of  Scotland,  may  be  traced  direct- 
ly or  indirectly,  to  the  defects  and  errors  cleaving  to 
her  establishment  at  the  revolution;  and  as  it  is  her 
duty,  so  it  will  be  her  safety  seriously  to  consider 
these,  and,  following  the  direction  of  Scripture  and 
the  example  of  our  reforming  ancestors,  to  confess 
them  before  God  and  seek  their  removal."* 

Entertaining  such  sentiments,  and  considering  the 
growing  prejudice  against  establishments,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  little  prospect  oC  the  removal  of  their 
abuses,  on  the  other,  be  was  disposed  to  be  very 
apprehensive  of  tbei'r  fate,  and  to  despair  of  their 
being  defended  with  success, — an  anticipation  which, 
though  considerably  relieved  from  its  gloom  by  sub- 
sequent events,  was  never  wholly  removed  from  his 
mind.  In  this  mood  he  seems  to  have  been,  wdien 
he  says,  Oct.  3,  1832,  "Much  as  I  disapprove  of  the 
present  movement  on  the  part  of  the  Dissenters,  )'et 
I  am  afraid  that  the  Scotch,  as  well  as  the  sister, 
establishment  must  come  down,  before  things  can  go 
right."  Yet,  shortly  after,  I  find  him  rallying  his 
correspondent  in  a  livelier  strain: — "Is  it  yet  time 
for  me  to  commence  a  canvass  for  John  Knox's 
church  ?  I  have  heard  that  Adam  Gib,  to  a  consi- 
deral)ly  late  period  of  his  life,  expressed  the  hope 

*  Vindication  of  the  Principles  of  the  Cliurch  of  Scotland, 
&.C.,  p.  19.  The  defects  referred  to  were  chiefly  the  want  of  a 
formal  recognition  of  the  obligation  of  our  National  Covenants, 
of  the  Divine  right  of  Presbytery,  and  of  the  Independence  of 
the  Church. 


296  LIFE   OF  DR.  M'CUIE. 

that  he  would  preach  in  St,  Giles's.  You  know 
the  practical  inference.  Yet  we  do  injury  to  more 
than  our  own  happiness  by  dealing  harshly  with 
kind  hope,  repressing  her  ardour,  and  chiding  her 
i'or  those  lamb-like  friskings  in  which  she  indulges 
to  please  us." 

In  April  1832,  he  appeared  in  a  public  meeting 
called  for  the  purpose  of  petitioning  Parliament 
against  the  Government  plan  of  education  for  Ire- 
land.  *  Though  on  this  occasion  deserted  and  opposed 

*  This  meeting  was  advertised  to  take  place  on  Thursday,  May 
10,  and  the  attendance  of  those  persons  only  was  requested  "  who 
consider  that  the  plan  of  Education  for  Ireland  is  objectionable, 
as  having  a  tendency  to  withdraw  the  Bible  practically  from  the 
instruction  to  be  afforded  under  the  sanction  of  that  plan."     After 
the  meeting  hud  convened,  however,  it  was  found,  that  the  Dean 
of  Guild  refused  the  use  of  the  church  to  either  of  the  parties  in 
the  question.     This  was  intimated  by  the   chairman,   who   an- 
nounced that  the  meeting  would  be  adjourned  to  the  succeedinjr 
day;  and  he  took  the  opportunity  of  adverting  to  certain  marks 
of  disapprobation  or  derision  which  were  uttered  by  some  who 
had  come  to  disturb  the  meeting.     After  this  intimation  had  been 
made,  "  Dr.  MCrie,"  says  the  newspapers  of  the  day,  "  evidently 
labouring  under  a  considerable  degree  of  excitement,  stepped 
forward,  and  said   he  would   only  add  a  single  word.     'Those 
gentlemen  would  recollect  that  they  had  to  do  with  men, — and 
witli  men  who  were  not  accustomed  to  be  brow  heat.     If  they 
were  not  then  permitted  to  be  heard,  they  would  bow  ilielr  heads, 
and  wait  till  they  had  an  opportunity.     A  meeting  would  be  held 
to-morrow;  it  would  be  an  open  meeting,  as  open  as  it  was  pos- 
sible to  be  in  any  house  in  this  extended  and  unwalled  city. 
They  had  no  design  to  conceal  any  resolution  they  had  to  pro- 
pose; every  gentleman  and  mechanic,  down  to  the  lowest  grade, 
might  enter  and  hear,  if  he  conducted  himself  as  a  man.     Ho 
(Pr.  M'Crie)  held  a  public  meeting  every  Lord's  day,  and  there 
was  not  an  individual  prevented  from  entering  within  the  walls 
or"  the  house.     It  was  true  there  was  what  was  called  a  plate  at 
the  door,  but  any  person  might  pass  it  with    his  hands  in    his 
pockets — ay,  though  his  pockets  were  sealed; — all  that  was  re- 
quired of  him  was  to  sit  quiet,  and  he  might  go  and  give  as  his 
opinions  to  the  organs  of  the  press  what  he  thought  fit,  however 
opposed  tiiese  might  be  to  the  secret  .sentinients  of  his  own  breast. 
He  tiiouglit  it  unnecessary  to  say  more;  he  had  sucli  confidence 
in  the  good  sense  of  his  fellow-citizens,  that  he  did  not  believe 
they  would  meet  with  any  indecent  interruption.'  "    The  Doctor's 
"excitement"  on  tins  occasion,  arose   no    doubt  from  finding 
himself  in  a  minority,  as  he  afterwards  e.xpressed  it,  and  opposed 
by  that  very  class  of  persons  whom  he  could  not  regard  in  any 
other  light  than  as  deserters  from  the  ranks  of  co;)stitutionaJ 


IRISH  EDUCATION.  297 

by  many  of  those  with  whose  political  views  he  gene- 
rally coincided,  he  warmly  supported  the  petition, 
on  the  high  ground  of  Christian  principle,  and  the 
real  interests  of  education.  Here  also,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  claims,  his  leading  principle 
came  to  his  aid, — that  "  Society  is  a  corporate  body, 
and  has  rights  and  duties  of  the  same  kind  as  those 
of  the  individual."  Granting  this,  his  line  of  argu- 
ment was  clear.  Extracts  from  the  Bible  for  the 
purpose  of  affording  a  cheap  book  for  schools  might 
pass;  but  when  the  extracts  were  made  avowedly 
with  the  view  to  conciliate  the  prejudices  of  a  class 
of  persons  who  deny  the  right  of  the  laity  to  the  use 
of  the  whole  Bible,  the  measure  assumed  quite  ano- 
ther complexion.  An  important  principle  was  con- 
ceded, so  important  as  to  involve  the  very  foundation 
of  Protestantism.  And  were  this  view  of  the  ques- 
tion fairly  taken,  we  do  not  see  that,  among  true 
Protestants,  there  could  be  two  opinions  entertained 
regarding  it. 

The  following  note  refers  to  the  same  question: — 

"  Salisbury  Place,  May  24,  1832. 
My  dear  Sir,— Engagements  have  prevented  me 
from  replying  to  your  kind  letter,  and  they  must  go 
far  to  plead  my  apology  for  not  complying  with  the 
request  it  conveyed.  1  do  not  use  complimentary 
language,  when  I  say  that  there  is  no  man  whose 
advice  I  would  more  readily  listen  to  on  that  point 
than  yours,  honouring  as  I  do  the  zeal  and  prompti- 
tude with  which  j'ou  have  come  forward  in  support 
of  the  cause  of  tlie  Reform.ation  on  more  than  one 
trying  occasion.  I  shall  not  say  that  I  will  do  no- 
thing; biit  at  any  rate  I  should  like  to  see  the  speech 
of  tlie  Chairman  at  the  antagonist  meeting,  which  is 

Whiggism;  as  much  as  from  indignation  at  the  unbecoming 
interruption  of  some  of  them,  who  had  ])laced  themselves  con- 
spicuously before  him,  as  if  to  outface  the  gentlemen  on  the 
platform,  or  enjoy  their  temporary  disappointment.  A  full  re- 
port of  his  speech,  delivered  next  day,  will  be  found  iu  the 
Appendix. 


298  LIFE   OF  DU.    M'CRIE. 

promised,  and  also  what  the  General  Assembly  will 
do.  I  understand  the  Assembly  are  to  have  the  ques- 
tion before  them  on  Friday,  and  trust  they  will  be 
faithful  and  firm,  as  well  as  moderate  and  wise,  in 
their  decision.  The  question,  "  Who  are,  or  who 
shall  be,  the  ministry?"  important  as  it  may  be,  is  in- 
ferior to  the  question,  "  What  shall  henceforth  be  the 
religion  of  this  country?  and  shall  our  children  serve 
Christ  or  Antichrist?"  But  the  very  terms  of  this 
question  involve  treason  against  the  goddess  of  the 
present  generation — Charity,  which  all  are  now  sum- 
moned to  fall  down  and  worship.  It  has  been  my 
opinion,  fixedly,  for  some  time,  that  any  administra-- 
tion  to  be  formed  at  present.  Whig  or  Tory,  would 
sacrifice  religion  on  the  shrine  of  political  expedi* 
ency;  and  "  my  people,"  provided  their  temporary 
and  worldly  views  were  gratified,  would  "love  to 
have  it  so."  This  is  my  political  creed. — Yours 
very  truly,  *'  Tijo,  M'Crie. 

"To  George  Ross,  Esq.,  Woodburn." 

On  the  same  principle,  though  guided  by  other 
and  still  holier  considerations,  he  took  an  active  part 
in  supporting  the  Society  for  promoting  the  due  ob- 
servance of  the  Lord's  day,  at  a  meeting  of  which, 
held  in  December  1832,  he  spoke  at  some  length, 
dwelling  on  the  advantages,  moral  and  social,  as  well 
as  religious,  which  would  result  from  protecting  that 
blessed  da}'^  from  profanation,  and  securing  to  the 
labouring  classes  in  particular,  the  free  enjoyment  of 
its  sacred  rest. 

His  mind  was  now  strongly  drawn  to  another  sub- 
ject of  very  great  public  interest,  the  question  of 
Church  Patronage,  In  the  beginning  of  1833,  he 
attended  a  meeting  of  the  Anti-Patronage  Society, 
at  which  his  friend  Sir  George  Sinclair  presided,  and 
delivered  a  speech  in  which  he  warmly  advocated  the 
abolition  of  patronage,  as  the  only  means  of  saving 
the  Establishment  and  promoting  its  efficienc}''.  "  It 
becomes,"  said  he,  "the  duty  and  interest  of  jjn  Es- 


CHURCH  PATRONAGE.  299 

tablished  Church  to  present  as  extensive  a  surface  of 
attraction  as  possible,  and  carefully  to  remove  every 
thing  that  contributes  to  lessen  its  influence.  A  few 
individuals  who  are  attached  to  its  radical  principles, 
and  who  cherish  the  hope  that  the  abuses  which 
drove  them  from  its  communion  will  be  reformed, 
may  continue  for  a  considerable  time  to  move  in  the 
circle  which  they  at  first  described,  and  to  stand  in 
the  same  relation  to  her  in  which  they  placed  them- 
selves at  the  separation.  But  the  principles  of  human 
nature  and  experience  warrant  the  conclusion,  that 
by  far  the  greater  part  will  gradually  recede,  until 
they  reacii  the  point  of  direct  opposition.  It  is  just 
a  hundred  years  since  a  secession  from  the  Esta- 
blished Church  of  Scotland  took  place,  caused  by  the 
enforcement  of  the  law  of  patronage.  The  first 
Seceders  were  friendly,  not  only  to  the  standards  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland,  but  to  her  establishment  by 
law.  This  they  avowed  to  the  world,  and  they  con- 
firmed it  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  for  they  were 
honest  and  sincere  in  the  avowal.  They  continued 
for  a  considerable  time  to  adhere  to  these  principles; 
but  at  last  they  wearied  of  holding  them,  and  now 
the  leading  persons  among  them  have  entered  into  a 
league  (I  cannot  call  it  a  solemn  league)  with  Inde- 
pendents and  other  sects,  in  an  open  and  avowed 
attempt  to  overthrow  all  Ecclesiastical  Establish- 
ments. Far  am  I  from  justifying  them  in  this  step; 
but  neither  can  I  apply  the  flattering  unction,  and 
say  that  all  the  fault  is  with  the  one  party,  and  that 
the  other  is  guiltless.  The  proportion  of  blame  I 
do  not  meddle  with ;  that  must  be  left  to  a  higher 
and  impartial  hand.  Verbum  sat  sapientibus.  '1  speak 
to  wise  men;  judge  ye  what  I  say.'" — "  Sir,"  he 
concluded,  "  if  you  succeed  in  your  object,  you  will 
do  me  much  harm — you  will  thin,  much  thin  my 
congregation.  For  I  must  say,  (and  the  attention 
with  which  you  have  listened  to  me  demands  the 
frank  avowal,)  that  though  patronage  were  abolished 
to-morrow,  1  could  not  forthwith  enter  into  the  Es- 


300  LIFE  OF  DK.  M'CKIE. 

tablishment.  But  I  am  not  so  blind,  or  so  ignorant 
of  the  dispositions  of  the  people,  as  to  suppose  that 
they  would  act  in  that  manner.  Your  cause  will 
soon  come  into  honour;  the  restoration  of  long-lost 
rights  will  convert  popular  apathy  into  popular  fa- 
vour; and  in  their  enthusiasm  the  people  will  forget 
that  there  are  such  things  as  erroneous  teachers  and 
neglect  of  discipline.  Do  1  therefore  dread  your 
success,  or  stand  aloof  from  you  on  the  ground  men- 
tioned? Assuredly  not.  The  truth  is,  that  I  think 
I  may  be  of  more  service  to  you  by  declining  to  be 
in  your  council.  1  have  only  to  say,  therefore,  Go  on 
and  prosper;  though  your  beginnings  have  been  but 
small,  may  your  latter  end  greatly  increase!  You 
have  my  best  wishes  and  prayers." 

In  the  month  of  May  of  the  same  year,  he  pub- 
lished an  anonymous  pamphlet,  entitled,  "  What 
ought  the  General  Assembly  to  do  at  the  Present 
Crisis?"  This  may  be  said  to  have  been  his  last 
publication.  The  object  of  this  tract  was  to  impress 
on  the  members  of  the  Assembly  for  that  year,  before 
whom  the  question  was  to  be  brought  in  the  forin  of 
overtures  from  various  presbyteries  and  synods  of  the 
Church,  the  importance  and  necessity  of  taking  a 
decisive  step  in  the  matter,  instead  of  resting  in  any 
half  measure,  which  would  neither  satisfy  the  country, 
nor  save  the  Establishment.  The  question  in  the  title 
was  thus  briefly  and  emphatically  answered,  "With- 
out   DELAY,  PETITION    THE    LEGISLATURE    FOR  THE 

ABOLITION  OF  PATRONAGE."  His  reasons  for  con- 
cealing his  name  were,  I  have  reason  to  think,  partly 
his  extreme  delicacy  in  appearing  to  take  any  share  in 
a  controversy  which  more  immediately  concerned  the 
Established  Church;  and  partly  that  he  might  deliver 
his  sentiments  freely  without  appearing  to  dictate. 
For  this  purpose,  the  present  writer  being  required  to 
come  under  a  promise  of  secrecy,  was  cooped  up, 
with  instructions,  not  to  transcribe,  but  to  transmo- 
grify the  manuscript  by  turning  it  into  his  own  style, — 
a  task  which  he  found  so  difficult,  and  executed  with 


CHURCH  I'ATKONAGE.  301 

SO  little  good-will,  that  he  was  not  surprised  to  find 
tliat  this,  like  the  author's  similar  attempts  at  con- 
cealment, proved  ineffectual,  and  that  the  paternity 
of  the  piece  was  soon  discovered  beyond  the  need  of 
farther  mystification.     The    pamphlet   contains  his 
matured  thoughts  on  the  subject  which  had  long  oc- 
cupied his  attention,  and  on  which  his  reading  was 
very  extensive.     The  arguments  from  Scripture  and 
history  are  not   overlooked;    but  though    on    these 
])oints  his  own  mind  was  fully  made  up,  he  considered 
it  necessary,  for  the  sake  of  others,  to  dwell  at  greater 
length  on  the  argument  from  expediency.  According- 
ly, he  begins  with  exposing   the  erroneous  notions 
which  prevail  "  about  what  constitutes  a  crisis  in  the 
affairs  of  an  individual  or  society."     "  The  man  of 
business  never  thinks  that  his  affairs  have  come  to  a 
crisis  till  he  has  paid  his  last  shilling,  or  till  he  is  so 
dunned  by  his  creditors  that  he  can  no  longer  evade 
their  demands,  and  is  forced  to  declare  himself  bank- 
rapt.     Rulers  never  dream  of  a  crisis  in  a  nation's  af- 
fairs, so  long  as  the  wheels  of  government,  how  much 
soever  injured  and  embarrassed,  can  be  kept  in  motion, 
and  they  go  on  protecting  abuses  and  disregarding 
complaints,  till  matters  have  arrived  at  such  a  state, 
that  no  alternative  is  left  between  provoking  open  re- 
sistance, and  granting  all  that  an  impatient  people, 
galled  by  suffering  and  delay,  are  pleased  to  demand. 
This  is- to  confoujid  the  crisis  and  the  catastrophe; 
or,  at  least,  to  bring  them  as  near  to  each  other  as 
the  flash  of  the  lightning  and  the  crash  of  the  thun- 
der."— "  There  is  a  time  when  the  requests  of  a  com- 
munity may  be  granted  with  safety,  with  honour,  and 
with  advantage,  but  beyond  which  the  boon  is  re- 
ceived wilh  cold  indifference,  and  improved  as  an 
argument  for  increasing  demands.     Here  is  the  crisis 
in  a  nation's  affairs,  and  it  is  the  part  of  true  wisdom 
to  discern  it."     Such  a  crisis  he  considered  that  time 
to  be  in  ecclesiastical  affairs;  and  he  takes  occasion 
to  argue  the  absurdity  of  continuing  the  antiquated 
yoke  of  patronage,  in  connexion  with  the  recently 
26 


303  LIFE  OF  DR.  M^CKIE. 

acquired  political  franchise.  "  A  nation  labouring 
uiider  political  and  ecclesiastical  bondage  has  been 
fiUy  compared  to  '  an  ass  crouching  down  between 
two  burdens.'  But  a  nation  released  from  politi- 
cal, and  retained  under  ecclesiastical  thraldom,  would 
exhibit  the  ridiculous  figure  of  an  ass  with  one  of 
his  panniers  cut  off,  while  the  other  dangled  at  his 
side,  causing  the  patient  animal  to  stagger  at  every 
pace,  and  threatening  ever  and  anon  to  land  him  in 
the  ditch." 

In  tlie  beginning  of  the  following  year,  he  was 
summoned,  with  several  others,  to  give  his  evidence 
before  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  on 
(yjjurch  Patronage.  "  I  am  very  unfond  of  the 
errand,"  he  says,  March  17, 1834.  "  1  do  not  see  any 
good  to  be  expected  from  the  Committee,  consti- 
tuted as  it  is,  and  in  the  present  state  of  the  minds 
cither  of  the  Legislators  or  of  those  for  vvhom  it  is 
proposed  they  should  legislate.  And  I  do  not  con- 
sider myself  a  proper  person  to  give  evidence  on 
the  subject, — on  more  than  one  ground  which  will 
readily  occur  to  you.  Accordingly,  I  have  endea- 
voured to  get  myself  excused,  but  unsuccessfully  as 
yet,  and  suppose  1  shall  be  forced  to  go,  unless  a 
doctor's  certificate  save  me. — One  of  the  topics,  it 
seems,  on  which  I  am  expected  to  give  evidence,  is 
the  working  of  Patronage.  Now,  waiving  the  inde- 
licacy of  my  speaking  of  its  present  effects,  or  even 
of  those  within  my  time  of  recollection,  I  really  do 
not  know  what  I  could  say  on  that  subject.  Like 
many  others,  within,  I  suppose,  as  well  as  without  the 
Establishment,  I  looked  upon  Patronage  as  an  iron 
saddle  which  had  grown  into  the  Church's  back,  and 
from  which  there  was  no  hope  of  her  being  relieved; 
and,  as  neither  I  nor  my  immediate  connexions  felt  it, 
I  did  not  trouble  myself  with  inquiries  or  observations 
about  its  operation. — I  have  no  doubt,  the  evidence 
before  the  Committee  will  be  unfavourable  to  popu- 
lar election.  If  Patronage  were  abolished,  what  do 
you  think  the  best  substitute?   and  if  the  right  were 


CHURCH  PATRONAGE.  303 

given  to  the  congregation,  what  checks  would  you 
propose,  to  prevent  canvassing,  precipitation,  &c.?" 
"It  delights  me,"  he  writes  to  Dr.  Watson,  March 
29,  "  to  find  your  ideas  coincide  so  exactly  with  my 
own,  especiall)'^  on  a  subject  about  which  such  various 
sentiments  prevail  even  among  good  and  well-in- 
tentioned men.  This  confirms  and  comforts  mc  un- 
der the  grievous  and  grieving  consideration,  that 
at  a  time  when  deliverance  from  the  yoke  of  pa- 
tronage was,  for  the  first  time  since  its  imposition, 
an  object  of  reasonable  and  confident  hope,  that 
hope  should  be  dashed  by  division  and  distraction  of 
views  among  those  who  have  the  interests  of  vital  re- 
ligion at  heart.  This  may  be  viewed  as  the  natural 
effect  of  the  long-continued  yoke  of  politico-ecclesi- 
astical tyranny,  which  breaks  the  spirit,  narrows  the 
intellect,  and  inures  to  a  base  servitude;  but  I  can- 
not help  looking  upon  it  in  a  still  more  serious  light, 
as  a  judicial  infatuation,  and  an  evidence  that  Pro- 
vidence, for  our  sins,  intends  to  defeat  the  sanguine 
hopes  which  we  were  cherishing  of  better  times. 
The  schemes  of  some  wise  men  in  our  day  resemble 
very  much  the  plans  of  those  in  the  days  of  Ezekiel, 
who  'daubed  the  wall  with  untempered  mortar.' 
Can  the  blessing  of  God  be  expected  on  any  measure 
which  retains,  and  is  calculated  to  perpetuate,  that 
which  has  been  the  source  of  so  much  wo  to  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  and  caused  the  ruin  of  so  many 
precious  souls?  To  expect  that  the  power  of  that 
party  which  has  so  long  lorded  it  over  the  Church 
will  be  broken,  or  that  their  opponents  will  ever  re- 
cover a  proper  tone,  or  commanding  influence,  unless 
that  which  raised  the  former  and  sunk  the  latter  is 
destroyed  and  removed  out  of  the  way,  is  visionary, 
and  as  absurd  as  it  would  be  to  expect  fcomponere 
parva  magnisj  that  a  sinner  could  be  rescued  from  the 
bondage  of  corruption  while  he  lies  under  the  sentence 
of  the  law.  '  The  strength  of  sin  is  the  law/  may  be 
safely  applied  to  both.     But  I  shall  get  as  warm  a^ 


30  I  LIFE   OF  PR.  M'CRIE. 

you,  if  I  go  on." — "  Supposing  patronage  abolished, 
what  would  you  think  of  the  vacant  congregation 
being  obliged  (by  ecclesiastical  law)  to  name  a  com- 
mittee of  their  number  to  look  out  for  proper  per- 
sons, preachers,  &c.,  to  be  heard,  through  the  presby- 
tery, to  consist  of  the  elders  and  a  certain  number 
chosen  by  the  congregation?  Would  this  prevent 
over-haste?  Or  would  it  be  a  species  of  patronage 
and  a  nucleus  for  canvassing?" 

Having  reached  London  in  the  end  of  April  1S34, 
Dr.  M'Crie  underwent  an  examination  before  the 
Committee  on  Church  Patronage,  on  the  2d  of  May, 
when,  says  he,  "  I  had  a  sederunt  of  nearly  four 
hours."  He  met  with  little  or  no  interruption,  and 
was  treated  by  all  the  members  of  committee  "  with 
great  politeness  and  courtesy."  The  only  part  of  hi.s 
evidence  which  was  demurred  to,  was  an  extract  from 
a  letter  of  Wodrow's,  in  1717,  respecting  the  political 
character  then  imparted  to  the  proceedings  of  the 
General  Assembly.  "I  said  I  hoped  to  be  allowed 
to  read  it  as  my  own  sentiments,  and  after  a  short 
delay  was  permitted  to  proceed.  It  was  a  considerably 
long,  stiff,  stinging  diatribe,  written  in  a  style  superior 
to  Wodrow's  ordinary,  and  under  the  impulse  of  the 
maxim,  fncit  indignatio  versus.  I  looked  on  it  as  one 
of  the  most  important  pieces  of  my  evidence,  and 
having  got  that  testimony  safely  lodged,  I  laid  aside 
all  fear."*  On  the  7th  of  May  he  was  again  called 
in  and  examined.  "  Have  no  doubt,"  he  says,  "  the 
committee  are  heartily  tired.  They  bore  my  rude 
plainness  with  wonderful  forbearance."  "  The  com- 
mittee requested  me  to  examine  a  copy  of  the  Book 
of  the  Universal  Kirk,  which  was  surreptitiously  ob- 
tained by  the  Episcopal  clergy,  and  is  still  forcibly 

*  To  Dr.  Watson,  3d  May  1834.  The  extract  referred  to  is 
that  ending  with  the  striking  words,  "  Restricting  of  patrons,  if 
the  people  be  forefaulted  of  their  just  right,  or  obliging  them  to 
take  the  consent  of  Presbyteries  before  they  present  a  minister 
already  fi.xed  to  a  congregation,  jcill  but  line  the  yoke,  and  make 
it  sit  closer  to  our  necks,  and  perpetuate  it  upon  us  and  posterity.'' 


THE  VETO  ACT.  305 

detained  in  Sion  College.     With  great  difficulty  it 
was  produced  by  the  London  clergy.*     I  dine  to-day 

with  the  Bishop  of .     How  shall  I  '  My  Lord' 

him?" 

After  his  return  in  May  1834,  he  writes,  "The 
result  of  the  Assembly's  proceedings  did  not  surprise 
me  any  more  than  that  of  the  committee's.  The 
patronage  vote,  however,  did  disappoint  me,  as  I  was 
led  to  believe  that  a  greater  minority  would  appear. 
However,  all  is  under  wise  management.  "  Should 
it  be  according  to  thy  mind?"  "  He  is  wise"' — our 
wisdom,  at  the  best,  is  folly,  and  we  see  one  another's 
freaks  and  faults,  and  laugh  or  fume  at  them,  while 
One  above  sees  ours,  and  bears  with  them.  You  may 
have  heard  that  I  gave  offence  on  the  Sabbath  before 
the  close  of  the  Assembly;  yet  I  thought  I  was  mo- 
derate. The  text  was  TJaniel  xii.  8:  "0  my  Lord, 
what  shall  be  the  end  of  these  things?'" 

The  reference  here  is  to  the  sermon  in  the  printed 
volume,  entitled,  "  The  Aspect  of  the  Times,"  in 
which  he  speaks,  with  such  decided  disapprobation, 
of  the  Veto  Act.  "  I  say  it  is  more  than  suspicious, 
that  the  alleged  boon  should  be  presented  by  the 
hands  of  those  who  have  summarily  and  haughtily 
thrown  out  the  petitions  of  the  Cliristian  people 
against  patronage.  They  say,  they  have  muzzled  the 
monster:  it  is  a  mistake;  they  have  only  muffled 
him,  and  they  have  muzzled  the  people."  During 
tlie  sitting  of  the  General  Assend)ly,  many  of  the 
ministers  resorted  to  his  church;  and  tliis  was  not 
the  only  occasion,  when  they  found  him,  as  he  ex- 
pressed it,  "more  plain  than  pleasant."  On  such 
occasions,  the  freedom  with  which  he  condemned  the 
policy  of  the  Kirk,  when  it  happened  to  displease 
him,  would  sometimes  give  offence — though  only  to 

*  Tills  valuable  document,  which  the  Governors  of  Sion  College 
would  never  give  up  to  the  Church  of  Scotland  to  which  it  pro- 
perly belonged,  alleging  they  were  bound  by  the  deed  of  gift  (of 
the  thief)  from  parting  with  the  custody  of  it,  was  destroyed  in 
the  late  fire  which  consumed  the  Parliament  House, 
26* 


30G  LIFK  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

those  who  were  unacquainted  with  his  character,  or 
unable  to  enter  into  the  conscientious  motives  and 
principles  by  which  he  was  actuated.  It  was  cer- 
tainly from  no  censorious  bigotry  of  spirit — from 
no  "  sour  leaven  of  sectarian  jealousy,"  that  he  em- 
ployed such  strong  language;  it  arose  from  his  in- 
stinctive dislike  of  all  carnal  and  temporizing  policy, 
and  from  the  very  intensity  of  liis  concern  for  the 
National  Church,  wound  up  to  excitement  by  antici- 
pating the  consequences  which  might  result  from  a 
single  false  step  at  such  a  critical  period  of  her  his- 
tory. The  fact  is,  that  he  said  far  more  severe  things 
against  the  Church  than  ever  he  said  against  the  Vo- 
luntaries;  on  the  same  principle,  that  a  father  will 
speak  more  sharply  at  times  to  his  own  children, 
whom  he  loves,  than  to  a  stranger,  whom  he  would 
not  willingly  admit  into  his  family. 

Nothing  was  more  apt  to  incense  him,  than  any 
mode  of  arguing  in  behalf  of  establishments  which 
reflected  on  the  Secession,  by  insinuating  that  Se- 
ceders  could  not  consistently  plead  for  them,  while 
they  remained  in  a  state  of  separation  from  the  Es- 
tablished Church.  He  was  equally  displeased  with 
some  injudicious  advocates  for  endowments,  who 
boasted  of  them  as  if  they  were  essential  to  secure 
ministerial  independence.  In  the  course  of  lec- 
turing through  the  Gospel  by  Luke,  when  he  came 
to  these  words,  "  When  I  sent  you  without  purse,  or 
scrip,  or  shoes,  lacked  ye  any  thing?  and  they  said, 
Notliing;"he  took  occasion  to  rebuke  those  who 
taunted  iheir  unendowed  brethren  with  their  depen- 
dence on  the  people,  "  even  though  they  may  have 
been  provoked  by  persons  who  have  extravagant- 
ly lauded  the  principle  of  voluntary  contribution." 
"There  can  be  no  doubt,"  he  said,  "that  the  apostles 
of  Jesus  Christ  were  supported  in  this  way;  and  our 
friends  of  the  Establishment  should  be  less  apt  to 
taunt  those  who  arc  thus  maintained,  lest  they  them- 
selves should  also  (ay,  and  that  sooner,  perhaps,  than 
they  are  aware.)  be  reduced  to  the  same  necessity." 


THE  VETO  ACT.  ,  307 

He  held,  of  course,  what  no  enlightened  defender  of 
Establishments  has  denied,  that  voluntary  contribu- 
tion was  the  primitive  mode  of  supporting  the  mi- 
nistry, and,  therefore,  a  Scriptural,  though  by  no 
means  the  only  Scriptural  mode;  for  in  perfect  con- 
sistency with  this,  he  maintained  that  it  was  the  duty 
of  Christian  nations  to  make  a  permanent  provision 
for  the  support  of  the  ordinances  of  religion.  Some 
persons,  however,  incapable  of  perceiving  the  impor- 
tant difference  involved  in  this  use  of  the  definite  and 
indefinite  article,  and  taking  advantage  of  the  strong 
terms  in  which  he  would  sometimes  speak  of  the 
probable  fate  of  our  existing  Establishments,  were 
fain  to  quote  his  authority  as  favouring  the  cause  of 
Voluntaryism.  On  one  occasion  only  he  considered 
it  necessary  to  contradict  a  report  of  this  nature, 
which  had  been  carried,  I  believe,  to  Newcastle;  and 
in  a  letter  which  was  inserted  in  some  of  the  news- 
papers of  the  day,  he  declared  that  whatever  might 
be  his  fears  regarding  Establishments,  he  was  certain 
of  one  thing — that  if  the  Dissenters  should  succeed 
in  overturning  them,  they  would  only  share  in  the 
triumph  with  infidels,  papists  and  all  sorts  of  irre- 
ligious persons. 

It  would  be  highly  unbecoming  in  me  to  decide 
how  far  his  views  regarding  the  position  and  pros- 
pects of  the  Church  of  Scotland  might  have  been 
modified  had  he  lived  to  witness  her  present  strug- 
gles. But  there  are  some  points  on  which  we  can 
be  at  no  loss  to  ascertain  his  sentiments.  That  he 
would  have  cordially  approved  of  the  efforts  which 
she  is  now  making  to  assert  her  independence,  against 
the  encroachments  of  the  civil  courts,  cannot  for  a 
moment  be  questioned,  by  any  who  reflect  on  the 
decided  tone  in  which  he  has  vindicated  her  former 
contcndings  for  the  same  object,  in  the  days  of  Mel- 
ville, when  the  Church  stood  upon  much  more  deli- 
cate ground,  and  before  she  could  plead  the  sanction 
of  those  constitutional  laws  by  which  she  was  pro- 
tected in  her  contest  with  royal  authority  in  the  time 


308  LIFE  OF  DR.  M^CRIE. 

of  Henderson.  The  independence  of  the  Church 
having  since  then  been  repeatedly  secured  by  the 
statute  law  of  the  land,  he  considered  it  her  legal 
right,  as  it  was  her  bounden  duty,  to  assert  her  pri- 
vileges as  a  Church  of  Christ,  and  condemned  the 
conduct  of  former  Assemblies  for  having  practically 
relinquished  them.*  But  patronage  he  held  to  be 
"glaringly  inconsistent  with  the  Presbyterian  consti- 
tution, and  with  that  independence  of  all  foreign  juris- 
diction, or  extrinsic  control  to  which  it  lays  claim  ;"f 
a  sentiment  whicli,  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt,  was, 
till  within  these  few  years,  entertained  and  pro- 
fessed by  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  every  period  of 
her  history.  He  agreed  with  the  compilers  of  the 
Second  Book  of  Discipline,  that  "  the  liberty  of  elec- 
tion of  persons  called  to  the  ecclesiastical  function, 
cannot  stand  with  patronages  and  presentations  to 
benefices;"  and  held,  with  the  General  Assembly  of 
1712,  that  the  Act  of  Queen  Anne  restoring  patron- 
ages was  "  contrary  to  our  Church  constitution  so- 
lemnly ratified  by  the  Acts  of  Parliament  of  both  king- 
doms." Convinced  therefore  that  the  law  of  patron- 
age, whenever  the  patrons  chose  to  prosecute  their 
claims,  could  easily  be  so  interpreted  or  so  enforced 
as  to  nullify  the  Church's  independence,  though  this 
also  was  secured  by  law,  he  despaired  of  the  success 
of  any  measure  which  proposed  to  reconcile  the  two 
conflicting  principles,  or  render  them  compatible  in 
their  operation,  and  augured  no  good  from  the  at- 
tempt which  was  made  to  effect  this  object  by  the 
Veto  Act  of  1834.  In  other  words,  he  was  thorough- 
ly persuaded  that  no  expedient  which  the  Church 
could  devise,  or  the  State  could  sanction,  short  of 
the  abolition  of  patronage,  would  secure  the  Church 
in  the  undisturbed  enjoyment  of  her  independence. 
Besides  objecting  to  the  Veto  on  the  ground  of  its 
merely  yielding  a  right  of  rejection,  instead  of  a 
right  of  election,  to  the  Christian  people,  and  of  its 

*  Testimony  of  Original  Seceders,  p.  38.  t  Ibid.  p.  42. 


THE  VETO  ACT.  309 

being  "a  half-measure,  lying  open  to  objections  on 
both  hands,  and  which  could  not  be  supposed  to  give 
any  thing  like  general  satisfaction,"  he  entertained 
serious  doubts  of  its  legality,  and  frequently  declared 
his  firm  conviction  that  it  would  lead  to  collision, 
contention,  and  litigation.  "  It  is  an  indirect  way," 
he  said  before  the  Committee  on  Church  Patronage, 
"  of  crippling  the  power  and  abridging  the  rights  of 
patrons,  which  though  followed  for  some  time  after 
the  Act  of  Queen  Anne,  was  ultimately  abandoned. 
It  appears  to  me  more  than  questionable  whether  the 
restriction  it  imposes  be  legal,  and  whether  patrons 
may  not  resist  its  exercise.  A  qualified  minister  was 
a  thing  recognised  by  the  canon  law,  and  a  condition 
from  the  time  that  the  right  of  presentation  was  con- 
ferred; but  no  such  element  as  the  consent  of  the 
people,  whether  avowed  or  tacit,  was  then  known;  it 
was  revived  indeed  by  the  Reformed  Church,  but  she 
could  never  prevail  on  the  State  to  recognise  it:  and 
one  principal  reason  why  the  government  would  not 
ratify  the  Second  Book  of  Discipline  was,  because  the 
Assembly  would  not  agree  to  insert  after  the  con- 
sent of  the  congregation,"  the  words,  "if  the  people 
have  a  lawful  cause  against  his  life  and  doctrine." 
At  the  least,  the  motion  is  an  attempt  to  apply  ab- 
stract Presbytery  (to  use  a  phrase  in  a  former  ques- 
tion) in  order  to  neutralize  concrete  patronage.  It  is 
not,  in  my  opinion,  to  the  honour  of  the  legislature, 
that  the  lavvs  of  the  country  should  be  thus  indirectly 
set  aside,  instead  of  their  being  regularly  rescinded 
by  the  proper  authority." 

This  judgment  has  been  since  confirmed  by  the 
decision  of  the  highest  legal  authorities  in  the  realm; 
and  it  is  vain  now  to  dispute  it.  The  reader  may 
be  struck  with  the  similarity  of  the  opinion  here  ex- 
pressed to  that  of  the  late  opponents  of  the  Veto. 
This  did  not  escape  himself:  "Dr.  Cook  and  I,"  he 
writes  to  one  of  his  family,  "travelled  together  in 
a  coach  lately;  and  we  both  cordially  agreed  in  con- 
demning the  Veto.     Extremes  meet."     They  met, 


310  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

indeed,  in  their  judgment  on  that  particular  mea- 
sure, but  in  the  path  which  they  look  to  reach  it,  and 
in  the  reasons  which  they  had  for  opposing  it,  they 
were  still  at  extremes.  Nor  can  we  suppose  that 
Dr.  M'Crie's  judgment  in  this  case,  was  formed 
in  the  spirit  of  those  who  accuse  the  Church  of  re- 
bellion, because  she  has  not,  in  her  ecclesiastical  ca^ 
pacity,  surrendered  into  the  hands  of  the  civil  courts 
her  spiritual  independence.  He  condemned  the 
Veto,  principally  because  he  was  persuaded  that  it 
tended,  if  it  was  not  designed,  to  perpetuate  the  reign 
of  patronage — more  especially  because  it  amounted 
to  a  virtual  recognition  by  the  Church  of  that  per- 
nicious system,  which  she  had  always  declared  to  be 
a  usurpation  and  a  yoke — and  because  it  proceeded 
on  what  he  viewed  as  a  delusion,  namely,  that  though 
patronage  continued  to  be  the  law  of  the  land,  the 
Church  had  it  in  her  own  power,  so  to  modify  the 
grievance  as  to  render  it  comparatively  hannless. 
Regarding  lay-patronage,  as  in  its  very  nature  incom- 
patible with  the  spiritual  independence  of  the  Church, 
he  could  not  agree  with  the  supporters  of  the  Veto, 
that  the  Church  of  Scotland  had  objected  simply  to 
an  absolute  or  unrestricted  patronage;  for,  at  the  very 
time  when  she  was  carrying  into  effect  those  practical 
restrictions  which  she  put  upon  the  rights  of  patrons, 
she  was  earnestly  petitioning  for  the  abolition  of  the 
law  itself  In  this  point  of  view,  he  considered  that 
all  practical  modifications  of  the  law,  attempted  by 
the  Church,  might  be  found  illegal,  that  is,  incom- 
patible with  the  rights  of  patrons;  just  as  he  would 
have  viewed  the  rights  of  patrons,  had  they  been 
prosecuted  to  such  an  extent  as  they  now  are,  to  be 
incompatible  with  the  rights  of  the  Church.  But 
then,  in  her  former  days,  the  Church  had  plainly 
told  the  Government  that  she  held  the  law  of  patron- 
age to  be  a  direct  infringement  of  her  constitution, 
as  established  at  the  Revolution,  and  solemnly  con- 
firmed at  the  Union;  that  she  did  not,  and  could  not, 
as  a  Church,  recognise  the  rights  of  patrons,  as  they 


AI50L1TI0N  OF  PATIIONAGE.  311 

were  at  direct  variance  with  her  constitution;  and 
that,  thei'efore,  if  the  State  was  still  willing  to  support 
the  constitution  of  the  Church,  it  must  be  on  the 
distinct  understanding,  that  she  could  not  sacrifice 
her  spiritual  rights  as  invaded  by  that  law.  At  her 
own  peril,  the  Church  continued  to  settle  ministers 
on  the  suit  and  calling  of  congregations,  as  if  patron- 
age did  not  exist;  but  knowing  that,  so  long  as  that 
law  stood,  her  liberties  would  be  constantly  endan- 
gered, under  an  adverise  administration,  by  patrons 
being  empowered  to  drag  her  before  courts  of  law 
for  acting  according  to  her  constitution, — she  pe- 
titioned that  the  law  might  be  "regularly  rescinded 
by  the  proper  authority." 

The  following  letters,  however,  will  explain  his 
views  on  the  deeply  interesting  questions  of  Pa- 
tronage and  the  Independence  of  the  Church,  much 
more  satisfactorily  than  an}^  detached  passages  which 
might  be  quoted  from  his  writings.  It  is  only  neces- 
sary to  premise,  that  they  were  addressed  to  Mr. 
Colquhoun,  member  of  Parliament,  in  answer  to  ques- 
tions put  to  him  by  that  gentleman,  with  the  view  of 
obtaining  information  on  the  subject  of  patronage 
previous  to  its  being  submitted  to  the  notice  of  Par- 
liament. 

"To  J.  C,  Colquhoun,  Esq. 

'•  Edinburgh,  Feb.  18,  1833. 
"  Dear  Sir, — You  will  tliink  I  am  laying  claim  to 
a  share   of  the  prophetic   spirit  ascribed    to    John 
Kno.v,  when  I  say,  that  I   had  answered  your  let- 
ter twenty-four  hours  before  its  arrival.     Mr. 

had  transmitted  to  me  the  queries  j'ou  addressed  to 
him,  and  I  gave  him  a  few  jottings  by  way  of  an- 
swer, the  substance  or  material  points  of  which  he 
may  have  by  this  time  communicated  to  you.  But 
as  your  letter  to  me  starts  some  new  difficulties  on 
the  subject,  I  write  you  what  occurs  to  me,  at  the 
hazard  of  partial  repetitions.  It  will  at  least  show 
that  I  am  not  unwilling,  at  your  request,  to  convey 
an_y  information  in  ni}^  power. 


312  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

"  In  the  first  place,  it  is  of  importance  to  distin- 
guish between  the  law   of  the  land,  and  the  princi- 
ples (I  may  say  the  law)  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
respecting  patronage.     As  to  the  former,  you  are 
quite   correct  in  your  statement,  that  patronage  has 
existed    since   the   Reformation,  always   excepting, 
however,  the  periods  between   1649  and    1660,  and 
between  1690  and  1712.    On  the  other  hand,  I  think 
it  equally  clear  and  incontestable,  that  patronage  was 
contrary  to  the  avowed  principles  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  from  the  commencement  of  her  reformed 
existence,  that  she  has  pronounced  it  a  grievance  and 
an  abuse,  submitted  to  its  exercise  from  pure  neces- 
sity, and  down  to  17S4  petitioned  for  its  total  aboli- 
tion.    The  First  Book  of  Discipline,  in  the  compila- 
tion of  which  Knox  had  a  chief  hand,  and  which  was 
ratified  by  the  General  Assembly,  expressly  declares, 
in  opposition  to  •'  the  election  of  ministers   in  this 
cursed  papistrie,"  that  it  appertainetli  to  the  people, 
and  to  every  several  congregation,  to  elect  their  mi- 
nister."   That  the  practice  of  that  period  correspond- 
ed with  the  principle,  appears  from  the  form  of  elec- 
tion of  superintendents,  ministers,  and   elders,   im- 
bodied  by  Knox,  in  his  History  of  the  Reformation. 
The  Second  Book  of  Discipline,  composed  with  the 
help  of  Melville,  and  ratified  by  several  General  As- 
semblies of  the   Church,  denounces  patronage  as  of 
Popish  origin,  and  inconsistent  with  the  order   of 
election  therein  prescribed,  and  mentions  the  aboli- 
tion of  it  as  one  of  the  special  heads  of  reformation 
craved  by  the  Church.     When  at  any  time  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  signified  her  practical  acquiescence 
in  the  rights  of  patrons,  it  was  always  with   some 
such  salvo  as  this,  "  until  they  can   be   got  removed 
according  to  law."     For  the  reasons  of  this  acquies- 
cence (not  approval,)  particularly  at  the  settlement 
of  Presbytery  in    1592,  together  with  the  methods 
taken  by  the  church  courts  to  neutralize  its  tendency, 
permit  me  to  refer  you  to  the  Ivife  of  Melville,  vol. 
i.,  p.  330,  and  note  EE.  of  the  2d  edition;  where  you 


ABOLITION  OF  PATRONAGE.  313 

will  find  a  number  of  facts  and  documents,  bearing 
on  the  subject,  collected.  Whenever  the  civil  pow- 
ers were  favourable  to  the  Presbyterian  Church 
(which  cannot  properly  be  said  to  have  been  the  case 
during  the  reigns  of  James  VI.  or  Charles  I.,)  she 
was  relieved  from  the  grievance.  The  preamble  to 
the  Act  of  Parliament  1649,  abolishing  patronage, 
confirms  all  that  I  have  said  as  to  the  principles  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  contains  a  summary  of 
the  reasons  which  justify  a  similar  statute  in  our 
day.  That  statute  is,  of  course,  among  the  rescinded 
acts;  but  the  Acts  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
same  year,  thanking  the  Parliament  for  the  abolition, 
and  settling  the  mode  of  electing  ministers,  main- 
tain their  ecclesiastical  authority  to  this  day.  Pa- 
tronage, as  you  know,  was  again  abolished  at  the 
Revolution,  and  reimposed  in  1712.  So  unpopular 
was  this  last  law,  that  during  a  number  of  years 
scarcely  a  patron  presented,  and  no  presentee  accept- 
ed, so  that  the  Presbyterians  thought  they  had  com- 
pletely disarmed  the  noxious  statute,  when  they 
obtained  in  1719,  an  Act  of  Parliament  declaring  that 
a  presentation  was  of  no  effect  unless  it  was  accepted. 
In  this  they  were  grievously  mistaken;  for  presen- 
tees soon  conquered  their  shyness,  applied  for,  and 
accepted  presentations,  and  the  church  courts  came 
gradually  to  sustain  them,  in  spite  of  the  greatest  op- 
position on  the  part  of  the  people,  though  they  still 
continued  to  profess  their  wish  for  the  abolition  of 
patronage,  and  petition  the  Government  for  it — until 
1784  (1  think,)  when  the  General  Assembly  agreed 
to  drop  the  instruction  to  that  effect  annually  given  to 
their  Commission.  I  hope  I  have  said  enough  to  show 
you,  at  least,  that  in  seeking  the  abrogation  of  the  pa- 
tronage law,  we  introduce  no  novelty  into  the  Church, 
but  proceed  on  an  old  principle,  and  crave  a  reform 
of  an  abuse,  and  restoration  of  a  privilege  granted 
at  the  Revolution,  secured  by  the  Union,  and  taken 
away  in  violation  of  its  stipulations,  express  and 
solemn.  May  it  not  with  justice  be  expected  that  a 
27 


314  LIFE   OF  DR.    M'CRIE. 

Whig  ministry  and  Parliament  should  restore  what 
a  Tory  ministry  and  Parliament  took  away?  Sir 
H.  Moncrieffj  in  an  appendix  to  the  Life  of  Dr. 
Erskine,  has  said  that  both  parties  in  the  Church 
were  now  agreed  not  to  agitate  the  patronage  ques- 
tion; but  in  coming  to  that  opinion  and  expressing 
it,  I  am  strongly  inclined  to  think  that  he,  and  those 
who  agreed  with  him  (for  he  did  not  speak  the 
language  of  all  his  friends)  were  influenced  by  the 
overwhelming  majorities  who  opposed  them  in  the 
General  Assembly,  together  with  the  determination 
of  the  Government  not  to  repeal  the  patronage  law; 
and  I  am  not  prepared  to  believe  that  he  would 
have  held  the  same  opinion  now,  when  such  a  great 
change  has  taken  place  in  the  political  state  and  fran- 
chise of  the  country. 

"  In  the  second  place,!  know  that  some  good  men 
in  the  Church  are  partial  to  the  plan  you  suggest  of 
giving  the  initiation  to  the  patron,  with  a  veto  upon 
it  to  the  people;  but  I  confess  it  does  not  recom- 
mend itself  to  my  mind.  Not  to  insist  on  objections 
to  patronage  in  general,  as  incompatible  with  the 
liberties  of  a  Christian  church,  and  with  the  genius 
of  Presbytery  in  particular,  I  would  beg  leave  to 
suggest  that  there  is  something  in  the  idea  of  nomi- 
nation by  an  individual  which  is  repulsive  to  a  bod}-, 
and  tends  to  rouse  resistance.  So  long  as  patrons 
are  known  to  possess  by  law  the  right  to  present,  to- 
gether with  the  power  of  providing  that  their  pre- 
sentees are  inducted,  if  they  satisfy  the  Presbytery 
as  to  their  general  qualifications,  the  deference  which 
any  particular  patron  may  be  pleased  to  pay  to  the 
opinions  of  the  congregation  is  regarded  as  a  boon, 
and  received  accordingly.  But  let  the  new  plan  be 
adopted,  and  let  the  people  know  that  they  have  a 
right  in  every  instance  to  thwart  the  patron,  the 
feeling  will  be  quite  difftrent;  looking  on  his  initi- 
ation as  a  restriction  of  their  liberty,  and  an  obtru- 
sion of  his  judgment  as  superior  to  theirs,  they  will 
resolve  on    nullifying   it,  and   asserting  their  own 


ABOLITION  OF  PATRO^'AGE.  315 

rights.  How  woukl  such  a  plan  work?  Must  there 
be  a  second  nomination,  a  third,  &c.,  by  the  patron, 
in  case  of  opposition?  and  nuist  the  congregation 
be  kept  in  the  mean  time  vacant  ?  I  am  aware  of  the 
influence  which  power,  exerted  with  moderation  and 
wisdom,  has  upon  the  popular  mind,  in  reconciling 
it  even  to  arbitrary  prerogative;  and  had  this  been 
practised  by  patrons,  or  by  freeholders  and  town- 
councils,  the  cry  for  liberty,  ecclesiastical  or  political, 
would  have  been  feeble,  and  the  people  generally  sa- 
tisfied. But  1  am  disposed  to  hold  it  as  a  principle 
in  legislation,  and  in  the  management  of  societies, 
civil  or  religious,  that  it  is  impolitic  and  unwise  to 
keep  up  the  mere  name  and  show  of  exclusive  privi- 
lege or  pre-eminence  when  it  is  intended  virtually  to 
yield  it  up,  and  when  circumstances  are  such  as  that 
de  facto  it  must  be  powerless.  The  continuance  of 
any  restriction  which  is  unnecessary,  only  raises  jea- 
lousy and  irritation.  The  influence  of  a  pious  and 
judicious  heritor  will  always  be  great:  his  right  of 
nomination  would  be  comparatively  nugatory,  while 
its  tendency  would  be  to  defeat  the  moral  influence 
of  his  character  and  rank.  At  least,  such  is  my 
opinion. 

"Thirdly,  as  to  the  principle  on  which  the  abro- 
gation of  patronage,  and  the  restoration  of  the  rights 
of  the  Christian  people  should  be  pleaded,  I  am 
quite  aware  of  the  objections  to  occupying  the  Scrip- 
ture ground  in  Parliament;  but  there  is  one  point 
which  may  be  urged  any  where,  and  cannot  fail  to 
have  its  weight,  namely,  that  all  candid  writers, 
Episcopalian  and  Presbyterian,  Popish  and  Protes- 
tant, allow,  that  bishops  and  other  ministers  were 
chosen  by  the  Church  at  large,  including  the  Chris- 
tian people,  not  only  at  tlie  beginning  of  Christianity, 
but  for  several  ages  after  the  church  was  established 
by  law.  This  supersedes  the  necessity  of  entering 
on  the  Scripture  argument.  But  the  proper  line  of 
parliamentary  argument,  I  should  humbly  think,  is 
ihat  which  embraces  the  avowed  principles  and  claims 


316  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  as  laid  down  in  her  pub- 
lic acts  and  proceedings,  together  with  the  hurtful 
effects  of  patronage. 

"In  fine,  the  expediency  and  utility,  if  not  neces- 
sity, of  the  abolition  may  be  urged  by  various  con- 
siderations— the  divisions  it  has  caused  in  the  Church 
— numerous  parishes  groaning  or  wasting  under  an 
unevangelical,  heartless,  inefficient  ministry, — for 
that  town  churches  are  no  proper  test  by  which  to 
judge  of  the  state  of  those  in  the  country  I  need  not 
tell  you; — ever  since  the  present  ministry  came  into 
power,  the  Crown  Patronage  has  (1  am  sorry  to  say) 
been  arbitrarily  exercised,  and  in  one  parish  by  far 
the  greater  part  of  the  population  would  have  by 
this  time  dissented,  had  they  been  able  to  erect  a 
chapel;  the  sincere  friends  of  religion  are  aroused 
from  the  torpor  into  which  the  despair  of  reform 
had  long  sunk  them,  and  the  cry  for  the  removal  of 
the  obnoxious  law  will  spread;  the  extension  of  the 
political  franchise  has  contributed  to  this,  and  wise 
men  will  judge  how  incongruous  it  would  be  (espe- 
cially in  Scotland,  where  the  people  have  always 
shown  a  superior  zeal  for  religious  rights)  for  men 
to  be  free  in  the  State  and  enslaved  in  the  Church, 
and  what  a  deleterious  influence  this  anomaly  would 
have  on  the  interest  and  credit  of  religion; — the 
greater  part  of  dissenters  are  now  leagued  in  an  at- 
tempt to  overthrow  all  Church  Establishments,  and 
so  long  as  things  remain  as  they  are,  or  a  thorough 
reform  in  providing  ministers  is  not  adopted,  the 
number  of  such  enemies  will  daily  increase.  I  think 
it  of  less  consequence  to  know  what  effect  the  pro- 
posed measure  vvould  have  in  inducing  Dissenters 
to  re-enter  the  Church.  The  extent  of  this  none  can 
pretend  to  say;  it  would  be  gradual,  and  all  its  in- 
fluence would  be  in  that  direction.  If  the  modifica- 
tion plan  is  adopted,  I  would  say,  it  will  induce  none 
to  enter,  though  undoubtedly,  so  far  as  it  goes,  it  will 
be  an  internal  benefit  to  the  Church.  Patronage  has 
caused  other  abuses,  which,  considering  their  dura- 


INDEPENDENCE  OP  THE  CIIUKCH.  317 

Uon,  could  not  be  removed  in  a  day.  Conscientious 
and  reflecting  persons  would  take  this  into  account, 
and  make  large  allowances  for  a  church  striving;  to 
reform  herself;  but  they  would  wish  to  see  good 
evidence  that  the  work  was  begun,  and  that  there 
was  a  single  aim  and  desire  to  prosecute  it,  before 
they  would  feel  at  liberty  to  break  up  their  pre- 
sent connexions,  or  to  enter  into  a  church  where 
they  might  find  their  consciences  pinched  and  dis- 
tressed, and  perhaps  their  sphere  of  usefulness  con- 
tracted. 

"Thus  have  I  given  you  a  frank  statement  of  my 
views  on  the  topic  you  suggested.  Excuse  the  free- 
dom with  which  I  have  stated  them,  and  believe  me, 
Dear  Sir,  yours  very  faithfull}', 

"Tho.  M'CniE." 

"  To  J.  C.  Colquhoun,  Esq. 

"Edinburgh,  Feh.  11,  1834. 
"  My  dear  Sir, — I  agree  that  the  question  stated 
in  )^ours  of  the  Gth  inst.  is  by  no  means  a  speculative, 
but  a  practical  one.     So  far  as  I  understand  Presby- 
terian principles,  the   direction  and  arrangement  of 
all  matters  relating  to  th.e  government,  as  well  as  to 
the  doctrine  and  worship  of  the  Church,  belongs  pro- 
perly to  the   ecclesiastical  courts, — not  only  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  government,  but  also  the  declara- 
tion and  settlement  of  the  government  itself.     And 
the  admission  of  ministers,  with  what  relates  to  it,  I 
look  upon  as  one  of  the  most  important  branches  of 
ecclesiastical   polity.      What  would  the  Parliament 
have  thought  if  the  General  Assembly  had  claimed 
the  right  of  deciding  and  determining  who  should  be 
electors  of  the  members  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  what  their  qualifications  should  be?    The  essen- 
tial distinction  between  Church  and  State — ecclesias- 
tical and  civil  government,  and  the  independence  of 
each  within  its  own  province,  are  integral  principles 
of  the  Presbyterian  constitution,  when  maintained  in 
its  purity;  they  form   the  hinge  of  the  controversy 
27* 


318  LIFE   OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

between  Presbyterians  and  Erastians  (as  they  are 
called,)  and  a  broad  line  of  distinction  between  the 
Scotch  and  English  Church,  in  aii}^  of  the  shapes 
which  the  latter  has  ever  assumed  since  the  Refor- 
mation; and  are  diametrically  opposed  to  the  "alli- 
ance" of  Bishop  Warburton,  one  of  the  leading 
features  of  which  is,  that  the  Church  yields  up  her 
independence  for  the  sake  of  the  secular  advantages 
which  she  acquires  by  entering  into  connexion  with 
the  State.  For  these  principles  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land contended  earnestly  in  her  best  times,  and  not 
a  few  of  her  sons  suffered  imprisonment,  exile,  and 
death.  In  fact,  they  were  the  main  subject  of  her 
contest  against  the  encroachments  of  the  house  of 
Stuart;  and  there  have  not  been  wanting  encroach- 
ments of  a  similar  kind  since  the  Revolution,  though 
not  accompanied  with  the  same  violence  and  tyranny. 
Every  thing,  therefore,  that  wears  the  appearance  of 
this  is  highly  suspicious,  and  ought  to  be  scrutinized 
and  watched  with  the  greatest  jealousy.  On  this  ac- 
count 1  was  glad  to  see  the  proceedings  of  the  Glasgow 
Presbytery  controverted  in  the  Scottish  Guardian. 

"  What  the  State  may  do  in  extraordinary  circum- 
stances, as  when  a  regular  Church  does  not  exist,  or 
when  it  has  fallen  into  a  disorganized  state,  I  will 
not  determine;  but  when  there  is  a  constituted 
Church,  and  that,  loo,  established,  there  cannot  be 
the  same  reason  for  the  State  taking  into  its  hands  a 
matter  that  is  properly  ecclesiastical.  It  is  a  maxim 
on  this  subject  with  the  most  approved  Presbyterian 
writers  (See  Gillespie's  '  Aaron's  Rod  Blossoming' 
rr— a  quaint  title,  but  an  admirable  book,)  that  the 
magistrate's  power  circa  sacra  is  not  privative  but 
.cumulative.  The  Confession  of  Faith  1560,  was 
drawn  up,  not  by  the  Parliament,  but  by  the  minis- 
ters, the  virtual  representatives  of  the  Church;  and 
the  circumstances  of  the  time  excuse  the  want  of  a 
formal  assembly,  or  ecclesiastical  judicatory.  It  was 
indeed  read,  and  deliberately  considered  in  Parlia- 
ffiept,  before  it  was  ratified.     This  was  highly  proper, 


INDEPENDENCE  OF  THE  CHURCH.       319 

for  Parliament  is  as  independent  within  its  province 
as  any  ecclesiastical  court  can  be  within  its  province, 
and  is  not  bound  to  ratify  or  give  its  sanction  to  any 
formula  or  document  merely  because  it  has  been 
drawn  up  and  approved  by  an  ecclesiastical  assembly. 
This  also  is  the  Presbyterian  principle,  as  opposed  to 
the  Popish  tenet,  that  civil  authorities  are  bound 
implicitly  to  ratify  and  execute  the  decisions  of  the 
Church. 

"  I  do  not  think  that  the  Second  Book  of  Discipline 
lays  down  any  doctrine  different  from  what  I  have 
advanced.  The  words  you  quote  are  qualified  and 
explained  by  what  follows  in  the  same  and  in  the 
following  paragraph.  They  do  not  state  that  the 
magistrate  is  to  make  laws  settling  the  policy  of  the 
Church  (that  belongs  to  the  governors  of  the  Church, 
according  to  the  principles  laid  down  in  the  preceding 
chapter,)  but  to  make  '  laws  and  constitutions  for 
the  advancement  of  the  Kirk  and  policie  thereof,' 
which  supposes  that  both  are  in  existence  indepen- 
dently of  his  laws,  though  they  may  be  advanced  by 
them.  If  the  Parliament  were  to  abolish  all  the 
laws  in  favour  of  patronage,  leaving  it  to  the  General 
Assembly  to  settle  the  mode  of  election  and  admis- 
sion according  to  the  principles  of  the  Church,  and 
declaring  that  all  who  were  thus  admitted  should 
become  ipso  facto  entitled  to  the  stipends,  &c.,  this 
would  be  a  law  '  agreeably  to  the  word  of  God  for 
the  advancement  of  the  Kirk  and  policie  thereof.' 

"  I  cannot  absolutely  vindicate  all  that  was  done  by 
the  Parliament  1690,  but  their  circumstances  were 
very  different  from  ours.  The  Church  was  in  a  state 
of  disorganization:  no  General  Assembly  had  met 
since  the  Revolution,  nor  could  well  meet  in  the 
confused  state  of  things,  until  called  together  by  that 
Parliament.  Its  acts  establishing  Presbj'tery  and 
abolishing  Patronage,  were,  in  the  general  view  of 
them,  agreeable  to  what  had  been  formerly  demanded 
by  the  Presbyterian  Church,  though  some  of  the  best 
friends  of  tliat  church  were  then  and  afterwards  dis- 


330  LIFE  or  DH.  m'crie. 

satisfied  with  some  things  connected  with  both  these 
acts.  The  Westminster  Confession,  ratified  at  the 
Revolution,  liad  been  formally  received  and  approved 
by  the  General  Assembly  before  the  Restoration; 
and  as  Patronage  had  been  always  regarded  as  a 
grievance,  its  abolition,  though  accompanied  with 
restrictions,  was  iiailed  as  a  boon;  but  the  Parlia- 
ment of  1690  would  have  done  well  to  have  imitated 
its  predecessor  of  1649;  and  had  they  done  so,  it  is 
my  opinion  that  even  the  Tory  Ministry  of  Queen 
Anne  would  not  have  ventured  on  the  step  of  re- 
storing patronages.  Half  measures  are  always  hazard- 
ous. But  why  should  we  be  bound  up  to  what  was 
done  by  Parliament  in  1690,  any  more  than  what  was 
done  in  171 1 — 12  ?  Have  we  just  emerged  from  the 
vortex  of  a  Revolution?  Do  our  circumstances  bear 
any  resemblance  to  those  of  Scotland,  when  the 
Government  had  to  contend  with  a  powerful  party, 
then  in  arms  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  the  exiled 
fiimily,  and  at  the  same  time  violently  and  invete- 
rately  opposed  to  Presbytery, — considerations  which 
had  great  weight  in  inducing  wise  men  to  bear  with 
any  partial  encroachments  made  on  the  rights  of  the 
Church,  and  the  niggardly  or  jealous  manner  in  which 
libert}'^  was  dealt  out  to  the  Christian  people?  Did 
Lord  Grey  and  his  colleagues,  in  forming  the  late 
Reform  Bill,  take  the  Revolution  Parliaments  as 
their  model  in  granting  political  privileges  and  suf- 
frages? And  should  we  scruple  to  put  this  question 
to  them?  Or  should  we  suffer  ourselves  to  be 
chained  down,  as  by  enchantment,  to  what  was  done 
in  1690? 

"  You  will  see  that  I  by  no  means  approve  of  the 
petition  of  the  Glasgow  Presbytery.  Not  to  speak 
at  present  of  the  place  it  gives  to  heritors,  I  think 
it  affords  a  dangerous  precedent  for  the  State  inter- 
fering with  what  properly  belongs  to  the  Church. 
It  affords  also  a  handle  to  those  within  the  Church, 
who  are  enemies  to  popular  rights  to  say,  that  those 
who  seek  the  removal  of  patronage,  are  exposing  the 


CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  MR.  TWEEDIE.        321 

whole  ecclesiastical  constitution  to  hazard  by  putting 
it  into  the  hands  of  Parliament  to  interfere  with  its 
internal  arrangements.  If  the  Presbytery  of  Glas- 
gow had  imbodied  their  propositions  in  the  form  of 
an  overture  to  the  General  Assembly,  to  be  sent  by 
it  as  a  petition  to  Parliament,  the  evil  I  have  alluded 
to  would  have  been  avoided.  But  no  Presbytery 
can  be  considered  as  expressing  the  sentiments  or 
judgment  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 

"  Pd  rather  that  patronage  remain  as  it  is,  than 
sanction  a  principle  alien  and  adverse  to  the  Presby- 
terian polity;  rather  submit  to  a  yoke  imposed  by 
the  State,  and  forged  in  a  barbarous  age,  with  all  the 
appendages  of  its  rough  manufacture,  than  willingly 
bend  the  neck  and  pray  for  a  new  one,  though  less 
galling  and  oppressive.  When  I  say  this,  I  beg  you 
to  recollect,  that  1  express  myself  as  a  friend  to  the 
principles  of  Presbytery;  for,  as  an  individual,  I 
would  not  petition  Parliament  to  refer  the  matter  to 
the  General  Assembly,  having  no  confidence  in  it  as 
presently  constituted,  and  believing  as  I  do,  that  the 
Legislature,  provided  they  were  to  agree  to  repeal 
the  patronage  law,  might  be  expected  to  be  more  fa- 
vourable to  the  rights  of  the  people,  than  the  Assem- 
bly will  be.  Such  is  the  consequence  of  the  long 
continuance  of  an  arbitrary  law,  and  of  the  complete 
independence  of  the  clergy  upon  the  people, — the 
only  check  to  which  they  can  be  legitimately  subject 
according  to  the  Presbyterian  system. 

"  I  have  thus,  at  your  request,  given  you  my  views 
on  this  question,  and  flatter  myself  that  you  will 
clearly  comprehend  my  meaning. — I  remain,  &c., 

Tho.  M'Crie."* 

*  "  Edinburgh,  6th  March  1834. 
"My  Dear  Sir, — Since  my  last  to  you,  I  have  thought  that  1 
perhaps  expressed  myself  in  too  unqualified  a  manner  as  to  the 
Parliament's  supposed  invasion  on  the  Church's  province.  No 
objection  could  be  made  justly,  if  our  Parliament  should,  for 
example,  enact,  like  the  Parliament  1049,  'Notwithstanding 
thereof  (any  presentation)  to  proceed  to  the  planting  of  the  Kirk 
upon  the  suit  and  calling,  or  with  the  consent,  of  the  congregation, 


322  LIFE  OF  DR.  M^C'RIE. 

We  now  approach  what  may  be  considered  the 
last  days  of  our  author;  for,  though  still  able  to  dis- 
charge his  usual  ministerial  duties,  it  was  with  a  con- 
scious failing  of  strength  and  sinking  of  spirits  which 
betokened  too  surel}'  to  himself,  that  his  days  of  use- 
fulness were  fast  hastening  to  a  close.  It  may  sur- 
prise some  to  learn  that  it  was  not  till  this  late  period 
of  his  life  that  he  seriously  commenced  the  task  of 
writing  the  Life  of  Calvin.  He  had,  indeed,  collected 
materials  for  this  purpose  several  years  before;  but 
he  would  frequently  observe,  that  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  finish  it  to  his  own  satisfaction  without 
personally  consulting  the  ancient  records  of  Geneva; 
and  the  obstacles  which  stood  in  the  way  of  this, 
arising  chiefly  from  his  ministerial  avocations,  which 
he  would  on  no  account  sacrifice  to  his  literary  pro- 
jects, rendered  it,  in  his  opinion,  impracticable.  About 
the  year  1831,  a  proposal  was  made  by  some  of  his 
literary  friends,  to  send  a  qualified  person  to  Geneva 
for  this  purpose,  without  putting  him  to  any  expense; 
but  this  he  resolutely  declined;  and  his  materials 
might  have  lain  untouched,  had  he  not  been  induced, 
and  almost  impelled  to  the  task  of  arranging  them, 
by  a  circumstance  which  he  could  not  help  regarding 
as  a  providential  call  to  exertion.  To  this  he  alludes 
in  the  following  extract: — "December  4,  1832, — I 

on  whom  none  is  to  be  obtruded  against  their  will;  and  it  is  de- 
cerned, statute  and  ordained,  that  whosoever  hereafter  shall, 
upon  tlie  suit  and  calling  of  the  congregation,  after  due  exami- 
nation of  their  literature  and  conversation,  be  admitted  by  the 
Presbytery  into  the  exercise  and  function  of  the  ministry  in  any 
parish  within  this  kingdom,  that  the  said  person  or  persons, 
without  a  presentation,  by  virtue  of  their  admission,  hath  suffi- 
cient right  and  title  to  possess  the  manse  and  glebe,  and  the 
whole  rents,  &c.  And  because  it  is  needful  that  the  just  and 
proper  interest  of  congregations  and  Presbyteries  in  providing  of 
Kirks  with  ministers  be  clearly  determined  by  tlie  General 
Assembly,  and  what  is  to  be  accounted  the  congregation — it  is 
seriously  recommended  to  the  next  General  Assembly  clearly  to 
determine  the  same,'  "  &,c. 

"  Something  like  this  would  avoid  all  Erastianism,  and  at  the 
same  time  would  show  the  vigilance  of  Parliament  over  the  rights 
of  the  Christian  people.  But  enough  of  this  at  present. — I  am, 
&c.,  Tho.  MCniE." 


COMMENCEMEKT  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  CALVIN.     323 

begin  to  feel,  perhaps  too  late,  the  justness  of  the 
wise  man's  saying,  'Much  study  is  a  weariness  to 
the  flesh.'  Yet  I  feel  a  lingering  fondness  after  the 
subject  which  I  had  commenced,  and  a  species  of 
aversion  to  leave  it  unfinished.*  Shall  I  yield  to 
this,  or  listen  to  the  voice  of  reason,  speaking  to  my 
infirmities?  I  have  one  son  now  in  Geneva,  whither 
he  went  about  two  months  ago,  with  the  charge  of 
two  pupils,  and  where  he  purposes  to  remain  with 
them  at  least  during  the  winter.  '  Well,  what  of 
that?'  I  meant  to  say,  that  while  one  of  my  sons, 
who  was  ready  for  taking  license  as  a  preacher,  has 
for  the  present  retired  from  that  employment,  his 
brother,  who  had  been  pursuing  his  studies  for  the 
bar,  has  exchanged  them  for  theology.  '  Yes,  but 
have  you  no  literary  leanings  to  the  quondam  Pro- 
testant Athens  and  its  Solon?'  After  what  I  have 
said,  I  would  be  a  fool  if  I  had ;  and  yet  who  can 
answer  for  all  the  foolish  thoughts  which  pass  through 
his  mind  ?  Ten  years  ago,  the  advantages  which  now 
present  themselves  would  have  set  my  imagination 
agog,  and  made  my  pen  like  that  of  a  swift  writer. 
But  ten  years,  at  my  time  of  life,  make  a  great 
change,  and  impress  a  lesson  of  sobriety  on  the  vain- 
est mind.  I  will  not  conceal  from  you  (for  I  am 
sure  you  will  not  make  an  improper  use  of  the  con- 
fidence) that  I  have  directed  certain  inquiries  to  be 
made  as  to  remaining  documents;  and  after  this,  you 
will  believe  me  when  I  add  that  I  liave  formed  no 
ulterior  project,  and  that  my  endeavour  is  to  suppress 
unavailing  regrets,  and  to  check  desires  which  would 
tempt  me  to  an  undertaking  beyond  my  strength."! 
His  son  John,  to  whom  this  extract  refers,  was  not 
one  of  those  who  could  rest  satisfied  with  fulfilling 
the  letter  of  such  a  commission;  with  all  the  enthu- 
siasm of  youth,  he  entered  into  its  spirit,  and  prose- 
cuted his  researches  with  such  assiduity  and  success, 
that  in  a  short  time  he  had  transmitted  to  his  father 

*  He  refers  to  the  papers  on  the  Marrow  Controversy, 
t  To  the  Rev.  Dr.  Watson. 


324  LIFE  OF  DR.  m'CRIE. 

large  masses  of  extracts  from  manuscripts  and  rare 
works,  containing  much  original  and  interesting  infor- 
mation regarding  Calvin.  The  effect  of  this  on  our 
author  is  thus  described  by  him: — "November  21, 
1833, — I  have  begun  to  do  something  connected  with 
the  Life  of  Calvin.  John  has  been  so  laborious  in  his 
researches,  and  sent  me  home  so  many  materials,  that 
I  found  myself  shut  up  to  make  an  attempt,  if  it 
were  for  no  other  reason  than  to  show  that  I  was  not 
altogether  insensible  to  his  exertions.  I  shall  endea- 
vour, at  least,  if  I  am  spared  in  health,  to  put  in 
order  the  materials  that  have  been  laid  to  my  hand. 
Delay  is  sometimes  productive  of  good,  but  oftener 
has  evil  effects.  I  can  do  nothing  without  continu- 
ous study,  and  I  am  not  capable  of  sustaining  it  now 
without  sensible  injury.  I  have  a  competitor,  too, 
a  M.  Henri  of  Berlin,  who  only  waits  transcripts 
from  Geneva  to  put  to  press  a  Life  of  Calvin  in  two 
volumes." — "December  13,  1833, — I  have  got  a 
second  Jasciciilus  h'om  Geneva,  which  reaches  to  Cal- 
vin's death.  John's  diligence  and  ardour  of  research 
have  put  my  indolence  to  the  blush,  and  from  sheer 
shame,  I  have  written  out  in  form  a  first  chapter, 
bringing  down  the  narrative  to  the  close  of  his  aca- 
demical studies.     But  what  is  that?" 

About  this  time  he  discovered  that  he  had  a  compe- 
titor nearer  home,  unconsciously  employed  in  the 
same  work,  the  Rev.  William  K.  Tweedie  (then  of 
London,  now  of  Aberdeen,)  who  from  pure  venera- 
tion for  the  character  and  admiration  of  the  writings 
of  the  Genevan  Reformer,  had  collected  materials  for 
illustrating  his  life,  which  a  residence  on  the  continent 
had  enabled  him  to  enrich  with  a  variety  of  interesting 
facts.  No  sooner  had  Dr.  M'Crie  ascertained  this  fact, 
than,  with  the  disinterested  promptitude  which  hema- 
nifested  on  all  such  occasions,  he  first  apprized  the  un- 
known author  of  his  being  engaged  in  a  similar  work, 
and  on  learning  who  he  was,  and  how  far  he  had 
proceeded,  he  urged  him  to  persevere,  and  offered 
to  transfer  to  him  the  whole  of  his  materials.    Mr. 


CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  MR.  TWEEDIE.        325 

Tweed ic,  however,  no  sooner  heard  that  Dr.  M'Crie 
was  engaged  in  preparing  a  Life  of  Calvin,  than  in 
a  spirit  hardly  less  admirable,  he  not  only  at  once 
abandoned  the  idea  of  prosecuting  his  work,  but 
cheerfully  transmitted  his  manuscripts  to  our  author, 
who  was  anxious  to  see  them,  accompanied  with  a 
request  to  make  any  use  of  them  he  might  think  pro- 
per. This  friendly  contest  issued  in  Dr.  M'Crie  con- 
senting to  proceed  with  his  work;  as  will  appear  from 
the  following  correspondence. 

October  23,  1833,  Mr.  Tweedie  writes,  "  1  ought 
to  begin  apologizing  for  the  liberty  I  take  in  address- 
ing you;   but  having  introduced   myself  to  you   as 

the  'young  clerical  friend'  of  whom  Mrs.  S of 

spoke  to  you  in  connexion  with  a  Life  of 

Calvin,  )'ou  will  understand,  and  I  doubt  not,  pardon, 
the  cause  of  this  intrusion.  I  had  a  letter  yesterday 
from  that  lady,  in  which  she  imparts  confidentially 
to  me  what  you  had  allowed  her  to  do  to  the  friend 
of  whom  she  spoke,  your  purpose  of  adding  a  Life  of 
Calvin  to  the  other  Biographies  which  you  have  al- 
ready given  us.  As  I  have  been  for  many  years  a 
devoted  admirer  of  that  wonderful  man,  and  had 
turned  my  attention  so  early  as  the  year  1830  to  the 
meagreness  of  all  the  accounts  which  have  hitherto 
been  published  of  him,  the  idea  could  not  but  occur 
of  supplying  the  deficiency.  I  hoped  that  John  Scott 
of  Hull  would  have  furnished  us  with  something 
worthy  of  Calvin,  and  was  not  a  little  mortified  tliat 
Scott's  work,  '  Calvin  and  the  Swiss  Reformers,' 
lately  published,  was  but  a  meagre  translation  of 
Beza's  original  life  of  his  friend,  eked  out  with  a  few 
anecdotes  from  Sennebier — whose  life,  in  passing, 
appears  to  me  the  best  we  have." 

After  referring  to  the  researches  which  he  had 
made,  he  adds,  "  The  period  has  now  come,  however, 
for  which  I  have  long  waited,  and  I  cannot  well  ex- 
press to  you  the  satisfaction  which  I  felt  on  learning 
yesterday,  that  you  contemplated  the  work.  My 
endeavours  were  directed  to  it,  only  because  I  thought 
28 


32G  LIFE  OF  DR.  M^CRIE. 

it  an  ignoble  thing  for  one  so  conspicuous  as  Calvin 
was  for  all  that  is  great  in  our  ruined  nature,  and 
much  of  what  is  transcendent  in  our  renetoed  nature, 
should  remain  buried  as  he  is  to  thousands  under 
the  jeer  of  sciolists,  and  the  very  contemptible  malice 
of  certain  degenerate  men.  I  sincerely  trust  that 
by  the  extracts  which  your  son  furnishes  from  the 
Library  of  Geneva, — where  Calvin's  opinions,  I  re- 
gret to  say,  are  now  confined  nearly  to  his  own  vo- 
lumes and  manuscripts, — will  put  it  in  your  power 
to  restore  Calvin  and  Knox  to  each  other's  society 
once  more,  and  place  the  '^ j)ar  nobile fratr'nm^  as 
high  in  the  esteem  of  all  good  men,  as  they  formerly 
were  in  each  other's. — I  beg  again  to  say,  that  fi-om 
yesterday  I  waive  all  purpose  of  giving  my  gleanings 
to  the  public,  rejoicing,  as  I  most  heartily  do,  to  give 
place  to  one  who  has  already  in  himself  experienced, 
and  given  so  many  thousands  the  power  of  experi- 
encing along  with  him,  the  pleasure  of  which  Va- 
lerius Maximus  speaks  when  he  says,  Exultat  ani- 
mus maximorum  vii^arum  rnemoriam  percurrens.^' 

"  To  the  Rev.  William  IC.  Tweedie,  London. 

"  Edinburgh,  October  28,  1832. 
"Rev.  dear  Sir, — I  cannot  allow  my  first  leisure 
day  to  pass  without  answering  your  obliging  letter. 
You  needed  not  either  to  begin  or  conclude  by  apo- 
logizing, as  you  could  not  have  done  me  a  more  ac- 
ceptable favour  than  by  writing  me  on  such  a  subject. 
The  sentiments  you  express  respecting  Calvin  would 
liave  been  a  sufficient  introduction  —  I  will  not  use 
the  word  apology — at  any  time  or  in  any  circum- 
stances. I  could  not  but  be  struck  with  the  singular 
coincidence  in  the  feelings  which  have  led  us  to  make 
choice  of  the  same  subject.  For  many  years  I  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  marking  references  to  any  thing 
of  moment  relating  to  Calvin  which  occurred  in  the 
course  of  my  reading,  but  without  the  least  serious 
idea  of  writing  his  liie.  So  far  from  it,  when  any 
of  my  friends  suggested  the  work,  I  either  laughed 


CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  MR.  TWEEDIE.        327 

at  the  proposal  or  rejected  it.  But  the  thouglit 
haunted  mc,  that  it  was  disgraceful  that  nothing 
should  be  done  to  rescue  from  obloquy  the  character 
of  a  man  to  whom  the  Reformed  Church,  and  indeed 
the  Ciiurch  of  Christ  at  large,  owed  so  much;  and 
(will  you  believe  it?)  the  appearance  of  Scott's  liife, 
which  you  characterize  so  justly,  was  the  very  thing 
which  fixed  my  determination,  so  far  as  it  is  yet 
fixed. 

"  But  [  proceed  too  fast,  and  must  recur  to  what  1 
intended  to  have  begun  by  stating.     1  do  not  know 

in  what  terms  Mrs.  S may  have  written  you, 

nor  do  I  even  recollect  exactly  how  I  expressed 
myself  to  her,  but  I  know  what  my  feelings  were. 
Learning  from  that  lady  that  a  friend  of  hers  had 
made  large  collections  for  a  Life  of  Calvin,  and 
supposing  that  he  was  far  advanced  in  the  work, 
I  thought  it  but  fair  to  give  her  liberty  to  inform 
him,  that  I  was  labouring  behind  him  in  the  same 
field,  that  he  might  avail  himself  of  the  advantage  he 
had  by  prior  occupation  and  more  advanced  progress. 
This  I  would  have  done  to  any  fellovv-labourer  of 
whom  I  heard  any  thing  favourable.  Of  course  I  did 
not  know  whether  you  were  Presbyterian,  Episcopa- 
lian, or  Independent — though  my  impression  rather 
was  that  you  belonged  to  the  Church  of  England. 
Your  yielding  the  ground  to  me,  how  flattering  so- 
ever it  may  be,  was  what  1  neither  wished  nor  ex- 
pected; and  one  object  of  my  writing  at  present  is  to 
urge  you  to  reconsider  the  grounds  of  your  resolution. 
Permit  me  to  say,  that  it  is  neither  doing  justice  to 
yourself  nor  to  the  undertaking,  to  decide  in  one  day 
on  the  disposal  of  what  has  cost  the  labour  of  years. 
The  only  advantage  I  can  have  over  you  is  having 
meditated  a  little  longer  on  the  character  of  Calvin, 
and  perhaps  having  had  my  attention  a  little  more 
turned  to  the  times  in  which  he  lived.  But  to  coun- 
terbalance this  you  have  on  your  side  youth,  enthu- 
siasm, an  elegant  pen,  materials  wiiich  you  have 
gathered  in  the  course  of  travelling,  and  what  is  not 


32S  LIFE  OP  DR.  M^CniE, 

of  small  importance  in  authorship  as  in  other  things 
— a  first  love.  These  considerations  (not  to  mention 
the  risk,  at  my  time  of  life,  of  my  failure  in  the  at- 
tempt) should,  I  think,  induce  you  to  alter — allow  me 
to  call  it — the  hasty  abandonment  of  your  design.  If 
you  agree  to  do  so,  you  may  depend  on  any  assist- 
ance 1  can  afford  you;  nor  do  I  suppose  I  would  find 
any  great  difficulty  in  getting  myself  released  from 
any  indirect  obligations  I  have  brought  myself  under, 
in  which  case  I  shall  most  readily  transfer  to  you  the 
whole  of  my  materials. 

"If  you  should  continue  in  your  resolution,  I  will 
avail  myself  with  pleasure  of  your  kind  offer  of  assist- 
ance, which  cannot  fail  to  be  of  the  most  essential 
service  to  me.  But  in  this  case  I  am  afraid  you  may 
be  assailed  with  a  personal  visit,  for  I  scarcely  think 
that  1  would  be  satisfied  with  such  communications 
as  can  be  made  by  letter.  In  the  mean  time,  I  shall 
frankly  acquaint  you  with  the  guides  with  which  I 
am  provided." 

JVovember  15,  1833. — "I  have  not  succeeded  wilh 
you  in  my  attempt  to  persuade,  and  not  having  Farel's 
thunder,  I  shall  not  presume  to  terrify  you  into  the 
task;  only  you  must  allow  me  to  say  that  you  failed 
in  5'our  parallel;  for  Calvin,  you  must  remember,  was 
then  the  young  man.  You  are,  however,  very  kind 
in  offering  your  assistance,  and  I  beg  you  not  to  say 
or  think  that  this  is  a  small  matter.  All  my  corre- 
spondence with  you  now  must  proceed  on  the  con- 
trary supposition." 

December  19,  1833. — "I  have  read  your  disquisi- 
tion on  Servetus  carefully,  and  mean  to  read  it  again 
more  carefully.  I  take  it  for  granted  you  have  no 
objection  to  its  lying  beside  me.  I  have  no  doubt 
that,  according  to  the  laws  in  force  at  Geneva,  as 
well  as  elsewhere,  the  punishment  of  Servetus,  on 
his  being  found  guilty,  was  a  matter  of  course;  nor 
do  I  think  it  can  be  proved  that  Calvin  did  any  thing 
in  that  affair  but  what  he  was  bound  to  do,  agreeably 
to  those  laws,  and  his  own  views  of  Scripture  and , 


CORRESPONDEKCE  WITH  MR.  TWEEDIE.        329 

criminal  jurisprudence.     My  objections  are  to  the 
law  itself,  which  authorizes  the  capital  punishment 
of  heretics,  and  that  not  merely  because  it  may  be 
extended  to  all  heresy,  or  what  the  judges   might 
pronounce  heresy,  and  consequently  to  the  reformed 
opinions  in  the  Roman  Catholic  countries,  but  also  be- 
cause 1  cannot  think  that  heresy,  as  such,  is  a  crime 
in  the  eye  of  the  State.     Had  the  law  been  against 
blasphemy,  or  heresy  assuming  that  form, much  might 
be  said  in  favour  of  punishing  those  who  rail  at  or 
revile  the  Being  whom  the  State  adored,  and  certainly 
Servetus  was  chargeable  with  this  high  offence.     It 
is  in  this  light  that  Calvin  and  Beza  view  his  conduct 
in  their  tracts,  but  then  their  arguments  often  go  far- 
ther, and  would  authorize  punishment  even  to  the 
death  against  simple  heresy.      Spanheim,  Turretin, 
&c.,  always  consider  it  as  blasphemy  when  they  speak 
of  the  death  of  Servetus,  and  vindicate  or  apologize 
for  the  sentence  against  him.    Considering  the  nature 
of  the  heretic's  conduct,  the  odium  wliich  Geneva 
had  contracted  as  a  receptacle  of  heretics,  and  the 
outcry  which  had  been  made  against  Calvin  as  an 
anti-trinitarian,  I  would  have  justified  the  Council  of 
Geneva  for  punishing  Servetus,  or  detaining  him  in 
prison.     But  besides  the  horror  that  I  feel  at  blood 
or  fire  in  any  thing  immediately  connected  with  reli- 
gion, I  am  afraid  of  any  principle  which  leads  either 
to  persecution  or  to  a  confounding  of  the  objects  of 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction.     You  know  I  am 
a  strenuous  opponent  of  the  plan  of  divorcing  religion 
from  civil  government;  1  view  the  former,  taken  in 
a  large  or  rather  a  general  sense,  as  the  basis  of  the 
latter,  and  its  firmest  support.     At  the  same  time,  I 
have  long  held  it  as  a  principle,  that  it  is  only  when 
religious  opinions  or  their  avowal  directly  injure  the 
proper  interests  of  the  State  (and  not  formally  as  dis- 
honouring to  God,)  that  they  become  the  objects  of 
civil  restraint  or  criminal  punishment;  and  that  the 
laws  of  the  State  ought  to  be  so  regulated  as  not  to 
make  the  simple  declaration  or  defence  of  opinions, 
2S* 


330  LIFE  OF  PR,  M^CRIE. 

in  matters  of  faith,  punishable.  This  being  the  case, 
you  will  see  I  am  not  prepared  to  go  your  length  in 
the  vindication  of  Calvin,  at  least  if  I  have  inter- 
preted right  what  you  have  said.  At  the  same  time, 
your  reflections  will  be  of  great  use  to  me,  and  on  re- 
considering them  I  may  perceive  more  force  in  them 
than  struck  me  at  first  reading.  Any  thing  farther 
from  you  on  that  delicate  subject  will  be  most  accept- 
able. I  would  not  fear  the  misconstructions  of  the 
world,  nor  the  outcry  of  persecution  from  the  mouths 
of  latitudinarians,  could  I  perceive  firm  ground  to 
stand  upon.  The  argument  from  expediency  may  be 
wielded  both  ways." 

JMarch  25,1835. — "In  what  a  singular  condition 
are  both  Church  and  State  at  present!  If  you  and 
I  had  it  in  our  power,  and  were  at  liberty,  to  retire 
and  to  spend  two  years  in  some  sequestered  island, 
in  writing  a  joint  Life  of  Calvin,  could  we  conjecture 
by  all  our  mutual  cogitations,  during  our  hours  of  re- 
laxation, in  the  interval,  what  would  be  the  actual 
situation  in  which  we  would  find  our  native  country 
on  our  return  at  the  end  of  that  period .''  The  changes 
which  take  place  so  unexpectedly  should  teach  us  to 
look  beyond  men,  and  beyond  the  measures  which 
they  contemplate  (I  include  churchmen  and  states- 
men,) to  the  hand  and  counsel  of  Him  who  has  the 
hearts  of  all  in  his  hand,  who  uses  them  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  some  of  his  minor  purposes  in  the  mean 
time;  but  whose  designs  are  as  far  above  theirs  as  the 
heavens  are  above  the  earth,  and  who  will  not  want 
instruments  for  the  accomplishment  of  them,  when- 
ever the  time,  tlie  set  time,  has  come.  But  I  am  be- 
ginning to  preach  to  you — it  is,  however,  Calvinislic 
doctrine." — I  am,  m)^  dear  Sir,  ever  yours,  very  faith- 
fully, "  Tho.  M'Crie." 

The  letters  which  passed  between  Dr.  M'Crie  and 
his  son  on  the  Continent,  are  valuable  as  documents, 
but  being  chiefly  occupied  either  with  private  mat- 
ters, or  with  hints  and  suggestions  regarding  the  in- 


DEATH  OP  BRETIIREX.  331 

qulries  in  which  he  was  engaged,  they  arc  not  fitted 
for  insertion  here.  He  was  still  receiving  fresh  sup- 
plies of  materials  from  Geneva;  but,  he  observes,  July 
1834,  "I  have  neither  time  nor  leisure  to  avail  my- 
self of  them;  and  instead  of  rejoicing,  as  I  used  to  do, 
at  the  sight  of  such  treasures,  1  ratlier  fed  inclined  to 
weep.  Yet  if  I  can  make  nothing  of  them,  some 
other  may."  It  is  truly  affecting,  indeed,  in  perusing 
the  correspondence  between  the  father  and  the  son 
(now  that  they  are  both  silent  in  the  grave !)  to  observe 
how  the  fading  energies  of  the  one  struggled  to  keep 
pace  with,  and  to  reward,  the  youthful  zeal  and  affec- 
tionate toils  of  the  other.  But  what  with  his  increasing 
infirmities,  and  the  perpetual  interruptions  which  he 
was  meeting  with,  from  visiters,  correspondence, 
public  meetings,  applications  for  assistance  in  literary 
undertakings  or  on  sacramental  occasions,  with  his 
ordinary  ministerial  duties,  to  which  were  now  added 
the  labours  of  the  Divinity  Hall,*  his  time  was  so 
completely  broken  up  and  consumed,  that,  as  we  shall 
afterward  see,  he  was  able  to  proceed  only  a  little 
farther  with  the  Life  of  Calvin,  when  he  was  called 
away  from  all  his  labours. 

His  mind,  which  now  began  to  cherish  the  impres- 
sion of  being  soon  removed  from  this  world,  was  re- 
peatedly recalled  to  the  exercise  becoming  such  a 
prospect,  by  the  successive  deaths  of  several  of  his 
brethren  in  the  ministry.  I  find  him  thus  referring, 
in  November  1833,  to  the  death  of  Mr.  M'Derment 
of  Auchinleck:  "  0  what  a  loss  have  we  sustained  in 
the  death  of  our  dear  brother  M'Derment!  Old  as  1 
am,  I  cannot  help  yet  weeping  at  the  thought.  There 
was  so  much  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness  about 
him,  so  much  gentleness,  so  much  piety,  so  much 
anxiety  to  do  good,  so  much  zeal  for  the  good  cause! 

*  In  1833,  he  agreed  to  assist  the  late  Professor  Paxton  in  con- 
ducting the  studies  of  the  theological  class.  Though  he  delivered 
no  regular  course  of  lectures,  but  confined  himself  chiefly  to 
examination  and  biblical  criticism,  the  preparations  required  for 
such  a  task  necessarily  occupied  much  of  his  time. 


332  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

He  had  his  faults,  no  doubt  (though  I  know  them  not,) 
like  all  on  earth  born  of  woman,  and  born  again  of 
tlie  Spirit;  but  take  him  all  in  all,  we  shall  not  soon 
see  liis  like  again.  Let  us  remember  the  end  of  his 
conversation."  Next  year  brought  him  tidings  of 
the  departure  of  his  venerable  friend  Mr.  Aitken  of 
Kirriemuir,  who  died  on  the  24th  of  Sept.  1834,  in 
the  78th  year  of  his  age,  and  56th  of  his  ministry. 
Writing  to  his  son,  Sept.  30,  he  says:  "  Though  the 
tidings  it  conveyed  could  not  be  said  to  be  unexpected, 
your  letter  produced  a  feeling  which  partook  of  sur- 
prise. The  accounts  I  had  heard  flattered  the  hope, 
that  a  vigorous  constitution,  aided  by  medical  skill 
and  domestic  attention,  would  resist,  for  some  time 
longer,  the  advance  of  disease.  But  He  vvho  knows 
our  frame,  both  of  body  and  mind,  and  in  whose  hands 
our  lives  are,  has  ordered  it  otherwise,  and  we  should 
believe  it  was  wisely  and  kindly  ordered.  'It  is  done.' 
A  long,  laborious,  and  useful  life  is  finished.  He  has 
rested  from  his  labours, — escaped  from  bodily  pain 
and  mental  anxiety— from  a  body  of  death,  an  evil 
world,  and  an  evil  time.  Some  of  us  must  soon  fol- 
low, and  those  of  us  who  may  survive  for  any  long 
time,  know  not  the  trials,  private  and  public,  which 
await  us,  and  from  the  sight  and  enduring  of  which 
he  has  been  taken  away  in  mercy  and  in  wisdom. 
The  grace,  however,  which  sustained  and  carried  him 
through  in  tlie  midst  of  his  duties  and  temptations, 
is  sufficient  for  us.  Let  us  follow  his  faith,  and  the 
other  graces  which  he  was  helped  to  display,  both  in 
life  and  death.  He  has  been  spared  to  his  family 
and  the  church  longer  than  many — longer  than,  from 
repeated  warnings,  we  had  reason  to  expect.  Let  our 
selfish  feelings  yield  to  gratitude."  Still  he  continued 
to  take  a  warm  concern  in  public  matters.  Like  a  leal- 
hearted  Seceder  of  the  old  school,  he  was  deeply  inte- 
rested in  the  fortunes  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and 
sincerely  rejoiced  in  any  symptoms  which  he  ob- 
served in  the  character  of  her  clergy,  or  her  adminis- 
tration, of  a  disposition  to  return  to  the  good  old  way 


THE  assembly's  FAST.  333 

of  their  fatliers.  His  prospects,  liowever,  on  this 
point,  were  now  and  then  shaded  with  that  "  pale  cast 
of  thought"  which  characterized  his  views  of  public 
affairs  in  general,  and  were  apt  to  give  place  to  me- 
lancholy forebodings,  as  soon  as  any  tokens  of  an 
opposite  tendency  came  under  his  notice.  "  What 
fools  our  church  folks  are,"  he  says,  January  21, 1S35, 
"to  identify  their  cause  with  Toryism  at  the  present 
day,  to  alienate  the  Whigs,  and  to  oblige  them  to 
league  with  Radicals,  to  give  them  an  excuse  for  de- 
serting the  defence  of  the  Church,  whenever  they 
shall  find  it  safe  or  politically  wise  to  do  so!  Don't 
you  think  that  our  times  bear  a  great  resemblance  to 
those  of  1640  in  England,  with  this  difference  (great 
indeed,)  that  tliere  is  not  the  same  religious  spirit  in 
Parliament  and  in  the  public  which  existed  at  that 
period?  How  a  collision  between  the  aristocrae:}'' 
and  the  commons  (not  to  speak  of  the  monarchy)  is 
to  be  avoided,  I  do  not  see.  The  public  mind  is 
much  more  extensively  enlightened  as  to  politics  than 
it  was  in  1793,  and  it  has  got  a  power — a  lever  which 
it  did  not  then  possess."  March  5,  1835. — I  have 
no  doubt,  I  have  a  great  portion  of  the  incredulity  of 
my  namesake,  and  would  wish  to  say,  with  respect 
to  public  prospects,  'Lord,  I  believe;  help  thou  mine 
unbelief" 

Nothing  gave  him  more  pleasure  than  to  hear 
that  the  General  Assembly  in  May  1835,  had  ap- 
pointed a  day  of  public  fasting — an  assertion  of  the 
intrinsic  power  of  tiie  Church,  which  he  did  not  an- 
ticipate,* and  which,  reminding  him  of  her  better 
days,  appeared  a  token  for  good.  Writing  tohisdaugh- 
ter,  July  17,  1835,  he  says,  "  It  will  not  be  in  my 
power  to  see  you  next  week,  as  it  is  probable  my  ses- 
sion will  agree  to  keep  our  Synod  Fast  on  Thursday 

*  On  the  Sabbath  after  Die  appointment  of  the  fast,  not  being 
aware  of  it,  he  said,  in  the  course  of  his  sermon,  "  Will  tliey 
venture  to  appoint  a  fast  on  their  own  authority?"  and  he  was 
no  less  astonished  than  delighted  to  learn  from  Dr.  Burns,  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  service,  that  what  he  evidently  did  not  expect 
had  actually  been  done  the  day  before. 


334  LIFE  OF  DR.  M^CKIE. 

first, — the  day  of  the  Assembly's  fast.  You  know, 
I  never  had  any  public  worship  on  a  King's  fast,  but 
when  the  church  courts  of  the  Establishment,  or  of 
any  denomination  of  Christians,  set  apart  a  day  for 
humiliation,  we  have  no  objection  to  avail  ourselves 
of  the  day;  and  at  present,  we  rather  see  reason  for 
approving  of  the  Assembly's  conduct,  in  so  far  as 
they  have  resumed  tlie  exercise  of  their  own  eccle- 
siastical powers,  which  they  had  so  long  yielded  up 
to  the  State,  in  such  appointments.  I  am  aware  the 
Voluntaries  think  the  fast  is  appointed  to  pray  ihem 
down.  If  this  be  the  case,  they  have  no  reason  to  fear 
their  prayers  or  their  fasting;  but  I  trust  that  many 
ministers  of  the  Establishment  have  higher  and  bet- 
ter motives,  though  no  doubt  there  will  be  much  for- 
mality— as,  alas!  there  is  among  ourselves.  It  is 
supposed,  the  Dissenters  generally  will  keep  their 
shops  open,  and  their  churches  shut.  They  did  not 
use  to  do  that  on  days  oi  royal  appointment.''* 

In  the  "Reasons  of  a  Fast,"  which  were  drawn  out 
by  him,  and  published  18th  Jul^'^  1835,  a  very  short 
time  before  his  decease  (indeed,  it  was  the  last  pub- 
lished production  of  his  pen,)  we  meet  with  the  fol- 
lowing remarks,  which  have  struck  many  as  peculiarly 
applicable  to  the  present  state  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land:— "Though  we  may  overlook  our  national  guilt, 
which  has  long  been  accumulating,  yet  God  does  not 
forget  it;  and  it  has  been  his  usual  way  to  inflict  his 
judgments  upon  a  people  favoured  with  divine  reve- 
lation,— not  at  the  time  when  they  are  in  a  slate  of  groxo- 
ing  defection  and  deep  insensibility,  hut  after  they  have 
been  brought,  by  means  of  the  Word  or  some  awakening 
providence,  to  a  sense  of  their  danger,  and  have  disco- 
vered symptoms  of  a  disposition  to  return  lo  the  path  of 
duty ;  as  it  is  at  such  seasons  that  they  are  most  likely  to 
recognise  His  hand  in  the  judgments  inflicted.  It  was 
not  in  the  days  of  Ahaz,  but  in  the  days  of  godly  He- 
zekiah,  that  the  captivity  of  the  Jews  was  threatened; 

*  Sec  before,  p.  09. 


"reasons  of  a  fast."  335 

nor  was  It  at  the  close  of  the  reign  of  Manasseh,  when 
defection  from  the  cause  of  God  seemed  to  have  come 
to  its  height,  but  at  the  close  of  the  reign  of  Josiah, 
when  there  had  been  a  remarkable  revival,  that  the 
Lord  proceeded  to  plead  his  controversy  with  his 
people  by  executing  that  threatening.  Hence  that 
striking  declaration  which  closes  the  narrative  of  the 
several  steps  of  reformation  under  Josiah's  reign:  'Not- 
withstanding the  Lord  turned  not  from  the  fierceness 
of  his  great  wrath,  wherewith  his  anger  was  kindled 
against  Judah,  because  of  all  the  provocations  that 
Manasseh  had  provoked  him  withal.  And  the  Lord 
said,  I  will  remove  Judah  also  out  of  my  sight,  as  I 
have  removed  Israel,  and  will  cast  off  this  city  Je- 
rusalem which  I  have  chosen,  and  the  hou^e  of  which 
I  said.  My  name  shall  be  there.'  Let  none  entertain 
the  presumptuous  hope  that  we  will  escape  national 
judgments,  because,  from  tliis  country,  by  means  of 
missionary  exertions,  the  Gospel  has  been  carried  to 
distant  nations,  where  the  name  of  Jesus  was  not  for- 
merly known;  so  long  as  our  national  sins  have  not 
been  confessed  and  mourned  over  before  the  Lord, 
and  so  long  as  the  great  body  of  the  nation  are  going 
on  in  a  course  of  backsliding.  It  was  at  the  time 
when  the  law  went  forth  from  Zion,  and  the  word  of 
the  Lord  from  Jerusalem  to  the  Gentile  nations  by  the 
instrumentality  of  the  apostles,  that  God  proceeded  to 
bring  upon  the  Jewish  church  and  nation,  'all  the 
righteous  blood  shed  upon  the  earth,  from  the  blood  of 
righteous  Abel  unto  the  blood  of  Zacharias,  son  of  Ba- 
rachias,  whom  they  slew  between  the  temple  and  the 
altar.'"* 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  however,  that  long  before 
this  time  his  heart  had  been  greatly  alienated  from 
the  world,  and  tired  of  the  troubled  scenes  of  its  po- 
litics, civil  and  ecclesiastical.  His  health,  though  in 
his  latter  years  apparently  robust,  from  his  having  lost 
the  spare  and  wasted  look  which  distinguished  him 
during  the  greater  part  of  his  life,  was  bj^  no  means 

*  Reasons  of  a  Fast,  appointed  by  the  Associate  Synod  of 
Original  Seccders,.     P.  4.    ia35. 


336  LIFE  or  DR.  m'crie. 

sound,  having  sustained  several  severe  shocks  from 
various  disorders,  particularly  tic  doloureux,  and  ery- 
sipelas, accompanied  by  sometliing  resembling  gout; 
and  in  the  beginning  of  1835,  his  constitution  gave 
evident  symptoms  of  breaking  up.  He  himself  be- 
came quite  sensible  of  this.  In  May  he  thus  refers 
to  these  warnings  of  dissolution  :  "  I  was  confined 
for  three  weeks,  chiefly  to  bed;  and  though  my  com- 
plaints are  in  a  good  degree  removed,  strength  has 
not  returned;  I  can  walk  no  distance,  and  half  an 
hour's  speaking  exhausts  me.  I  suppose  1  must  look 
on  it  as  indicating  the  climacteric  of  my  life;  at  any 
rate  as  warning  me  that  I  cannot  look  for  the  health 
I  have  enjoyed."*  From  certain  symptoms  which 
lie  experienced,  he  was  led  to  express  an  apprehen- 
sion (similar  to  that  of  his  friend  Dr.  Andrew  Thom- 
son) that  he  "  would  die  soon  and  suddenly."  He  fre- 
quently complained  that  he  "had  too  much  to  do;" 
a  feeling  which  no  doubt  arose  partly  from  a  failing 
of  his  former  strength,  but,  in  no  small  degree,  from 
the  accumulated  labours  by  which  it  was  overtasked. 
Demands,  without  number  and  without  mercy,  were 
made  on  him  for  counsel  and  assistance;  and  so  long 
as  he  had  a  moment  to  spare,  though  at  the  expense 
of  health  and  strength,  he  could  not,  in  the  benignity 
of  heart,  refuse  an  application.  "  I  have  submitted," 
he  says,!  "  not  brought  myself  under  a  task  which 
occupies  me  the  whole  week;  and  the  nature  of  which 
1  am  ashamed  to  tell  you,  though  important  in  itself. 
Tliere  are  some  people  born  to  be  beasts  of  burden, 
just  as  there  are  beasts  made  to  be  taken  and  de- 
stroyed." 

Having  recruited  a  littleduring  the  summerof  1835, 
he  undertook  several  excursions — not  for  relaxation, 
butto  assist  in  the  laboriousduties  of  a  Scottish  commu- 
nion, in  different  congregations,  both  in  the  north  and 
the  west  country.  He  felt  particularly  anxious  to  visit 
the  bereaved  flock  of  his  lamented  brother,  Mr,  Smith 

*  To  the  Rev.  James  Gray, 
t  To  Dr.  Watson. 


HIS  LAST  DAYS.  337 

of  Kilwinning,  and  administered  to  them  the  conso- 
lations which  his  own  people  were  so  soon  to  require. 
It  was  uniformly  remarked,  both  by  ministers  and 
people,  that  on  these  occasions  his  ministrations  and 
private  converse  were  distinguished  by  a  heavenly 
unction  exceeding  that  of  his  usual  manner,  and  in- 
dicating his  near  approach  to  "the  joy  of  his  Lord," 
The  subjects,  as  well  as  the  manner  of  his  discourses, 
could  not  have  been  more  appropriate,  though  he  had 
known  assuredly  that  "  those  among  whom  he  had 
gone  preaching  the  kingdom  of  God,  should  see  his 
face  no  more."  The  greater  part  of  the  week  imme- 
diately preceding  his  death,  he  spent,  at  a  considera- 
ble distance  from  home,  in  the  society  of  his  only 
daughter,  to  whom  he  was  bound  by  no  ordinary 
attachment,  and  the  state  of  whose  health  at  the  time 
was  so  very  precarious,  that  on  parting  with  her,  she 
took  her  farewell  of  him,  never  expecting  to  see  him 
again.  Her  fears  were  too  well  realized — though  in 
a  manner  very  different  from  that  which  she  antici- 
pated. 

It  may  not  be  considered  out  of  place  here  to  men- 
tion, that  as  he  approached  the  closing  scene  of  his 
pilgrimage,  his  thoughts  seem  to  have  reverted,  with 
singular  force,  to  his  earlier  days.  A  short  time  be- 
fore his  departure, .^e  repeated  to  an  intimate  friend 
a  dream,  which,  on  his  awakening  from  it  (or  rather 
in  the  midst  of  it,  for  it  appeared  to  strike  him  be- 
tween sleeping  and  waking,)  left  a  deep  impression 
on  his  mind.  He  dreamed  that  his  mother  had  ap- 
peared to  him,  wearing  the  same  aspect, though  deadly 
pale,  as  when  he  last  parted  with  her  on  Coldingham 
Moor,*  and  beckoning  on  him  to  follow  her,  which  he 
promised  to  do!  No  man  could  be  less  superstitious, 
or  disposed  to  treat  such  fancies  with  less  regard;  but 
this  morning  vision  coincided  too  well  with  the  train 
of  his  waking  apprehensions,  to  be  soon  shaken  off; 
and  it  proves,  if  nothing  else,  his  undying  affection 

*  See  before,  p.  16, 
29 


338  LIF£   OF  DK.   M^CKIE. 

for  that  pious  parent,  with  whom  his  first  religious 
impressions  were  associated,  and  to  whose  spirit  his 
own  was  on  the  eve  of  a  blessed  reunion. 

On  Thursday  the  23d  of  July  (the  day  appointed 
by  the  General  Assembly)  he  kept  a  fast  in  his  own 
congregation,  taking  for  his  text  Jeremiah  1.  5 : 
"They  shall  ask  the  way  to  Zion,  with  their  faces 
thitherward,  saying.  Come,  and  let  us  join  ourselves 
to  the  Lord  in  a  perpetual  covenant  that  shall  not  be 
forgotten."  It  was  observed  by  his  people,  that  he 
never  preached  in  better  spirits,  or  with  more  solemn 
effect.  On  the  Sabbath  following,  he  officiated  twice 
in  his  ovvn  pulpit,  with  his  usual  animation,  lecturing 
in  the  forenoon  on  John  xxi.  15 — 18,  and  preaching 
in  the  afternoon  on  these  striking  words,  Matthew 
iii.  12:  "Whose  fan  is  in  his  hand,  and  he  will 
thoroughly  purge  his  floor,  and  gather  his  wheat  into 
the  garner;  but  he  will  burn  up  the  chaff  with  un- 
quenchable fire."  It  was  observed  that,  at  the  close 
of  the  service,  contrary  to  his  usual  practice,  he  seated 
himself  at  the  door  of  the  vestry,  and  watched  the 
people  while  they  were  retiring,  till  they  had  all  gone 
out.  On  Monday,  he  was  much  in  his  usual  health, 
and  entertained  a  small  party  of  friends  at  dinner  in 
his  wonted  spirits.  The  evening  of  this  day  he 
spent  in  writing  to  his  son  Johnij  who  was  then  on 
his  way  to  Vienna,  giving  him,  in  his  own  homely 
way,  all  the  news,  public  and  domestic,  which  he 
thought  might  interest  him;  and  hinting,  though  in 
the  mildest  terms,  and  without  indicating  any  appre- 
hension of  the  near  approach  of  death,  his  fears  that 
he  might  not  be  spared  to  finish  the  Life  of  Calvin.* 

*  In  this  letter,  the  latter  part  of  which  is  dated  August  3,  he 
sajs,  "  1  regret  to  tel!  you,  that  I  liave  been  able  to  do  nothing 
to  Calvin  since  I  wrote.  1  cannot  accomplisli  my  preparations 
for  the  pulpit  within  less  time  than  Friday  and  Saturday,  having 
abandoned  ca:<crti/iorc  effusions  for  a  number  of  years.  In  addition 
to  this  and  my  other  avocations,  I  had  an  illness  in  tlie  spring, 
which  confined  me  for  a  considerable  time.  I  am  told  it  is  con- 
nected with  the  climacteric  of  life,  and  consider  it  as  admonish- 
ing me  that  1  cannot  now  bear  the  study  and  confinement  to 
which  I  was  accustomed.     At  present  I  feel  recruited,  and  if 


HIS  DEATH.  339 

This  letter  he  did  not  Hve  to  complete.  On  Tuesday, 
the  4th  of  August,  after  having  returned  home  from 
visiting  some  of  his  people,  he  was  seized  in  the 
afternoon  with  a  sudden  and  severe  attack  of  pain  in 
the  bowels.  Medical  advice  having  been  procured, 
he  obtained  some  relief;  and  to  the  anxious  inquiries 
of  his  friends,  he  said  he  was  better,  and  had  no  fears 
of  any  immediate  danger.  Shortly  afterwards,  he 
fell  into  a  slumber,  which  soon  assumed  a  very  alarm- 
ing character.  He  had  gradually  and  insensibly  sunk 
into  a  stupor,  out  of  which  it  was  found  impossible 
to  awaken  him.  Dr.  Abercromby,  on  being  sent  for, 
pronounced  his  recovery  hopeless.  The  disease  had 
all  the  symptoms  of  apoplexy;  and  during  the  whole 
of  the  trying  night  which  followed,  he  neither  spoke, 
nor  gave  signs  of  being  sensible  of  Vv4iat  was  addressed 
to  him.  In  this  state  he  continued  till  next  day, 
Wednesday  the  5th  of  August  1835,  when,  about 
half-past  twelve  at  noon,  surrounded  by  his  friends 
and  many  of  his  beloved  flock,  who  had  collected 
to  witness  his  last  moments,  without  a  groan  or  a 
struggle,  his  spirit  entered  into  rest.  At  his  death, 
he  was  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his  age,  and  the 
fortieth  of  his  ministry. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  describe  the  feel- 
ings of  grief  and  astonishment  which  pervaded  all 
classes  on  hearing  of  the  fatal  event.  So  wholly 
unexpected  was  the  intelligence — so  confidently  had 
the  public  counted  on  the  continuance,  for  many 
years  to  come,  of  a  life  from  which  they  still  antici- 
pated much,  that,  when  first  announced  to  them,  few 
could  believe  in  the  reality  of  his  death.  Judging 
from  the  numerous  expressions  of  regret  and  con- 
spared,  will  resume  the  work  after  harvest;  and  endeavour  to 
prosecute  it  with  application,  moderated  according  to  my  strength. 
When  at  any  time  1  am  prevented  or  disabled  from  proceeding, 
I  am  hurt  by  the  thought  of  the  great  labour  you  have  taken  in 
amassing  the  materials.  This  is  wrong,  as  it  was  done  for  the 
best,  and  Providence  can  so  direct  as  that  they  shall  be  turned 
to  a  good  account,  though  I  should  be  unfit  for  the  task.  I  am 
also  relieved  by  the  reflection,  that  the  fatigue  you  have  had 
will  be  beneficial  to  your  own  mind." 


340  LIFE   OF  DR.   M'CRIE. 

dolence,  public  and  private,  wliich  followed  on  the 
announcement,  there  are  few  instances  in  which  the 
sorrows  of  a  bereaved  family  have  met  with  a  wider 
or  deeper  response  in  the  community  at  large.* 

The  funeral  having  been  fixed  for  the  12th  of 
August,  a  general  desire  was  expressed  by  persons 
of  all  denominations  to  join  in  testifying  their  respect 
for  the  memory  of  the  departed.  The  Commission 
of  the  General  Assembly,  whicii  met  on  that  day,  on 
the  motion  of  Dr.  Cooli,  appointed  a  deputation  of 
their  number,  consisting  of  tiie  Moderator,  (Dr.  Wil- 
liam Thomson,)  the  clerk,  and  other  members,  to 
accompany  the  funeral.  The  preachers  and  students 
belonging  to  the  respective  Halls  of  the  Establish- 
ment and  the  United  Secession,  requested  leave  to 
attend  in  a  body.  It  was  thus  found  necessary  to 
make  arrangements  for  a  public  funeral;  and  the 
mournful  procession,  amounting,  it  was  said,  to 
nearly  1500  persons,  including  the  magistrates  of 
the  city  and  clergymen  of  all  persuasions,  accom- 
panied his  remains  to  the  Greyfriars'  church-yard.  A 
monument,  erected  by  his  sorrowing  flock,  with  an 
inscription  expressive  of  their  sense  of  the  loss  they 
had  sustained,  marks  his  final  resting-place. 

Several  public  bodies  passed  resolutions  express- 
ing their  high  sense  of  Dr.  M'Crie's  merits  as  a 
literary  and  public  character,  and  their  regrets  at 
his  removal.  Among  these,  I  cannot  help  specify- 
ing, with  grateful  feelings,  the  testimonial  of  the 
Synod  of  Ulster, — evincing,  as  it  does,  a  warm  ad- 
miration for  the  principles,  as  well  as  the  talents,  of 
our  author,  which  augurs  well  for  the  future  pros- 
pects of  that  now  happily  regenerated  and  dail}'- 
rising  portion  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  It  is 
due  to  Lord  Melbourne's  government  to  state,  that, 
through  the  representations  of  numerous  admirers  of 

*  Dr.  M'Crie  left  the  following  children  (by  the  first  marriage) 
namely, — the  writer  of  these  Memoirs,  who  is  the  eldest;  William, 
merchant  in  Edinburgh;  Jessie,  married  to  Archibald  Mciklc, 
Esq.,  Flemington;  John  (who  died  in  October  ]8;^7;)  and  George, 
who  is  now  settled  as  minister  in  Cloin,  Abcrdecnsljire. 


HIS  DEATH.  341 

Dr.  M'Crie's  public  character  and  services,  among 
whom  were  the  Lord  Advocate,  Lord  Minto,  and 
Sir  George  Sinclair,  a  handsome  annuity  was  assigned 
to  his  widow. 

The  death  of  Dr.  M'Crie  being  so  sudden,  so  unex- 
pected by  himself,  and  so  unheralded  by  any  of  those 
immediately  premonitory  symptoms  which  some- 
times enable  the  Christian  to  collect  his  energies,  and 
place  himself  in  the  attitude  best  fitted  for  the  re- 
ception of  the  last  enemy,  we  cannot  furnish  our 
readers  with  any  record  of  death-bed  exercise,  simi- 
lar to  those  which  have  so  often  and  so  profitably 
concluded  such  memoirs  as  the  present.  The  dis- 
appointment of  the  pious  reader  may  find  some  relief 
in  the  consideration,  which  brought  comfort  to  his 
friends,  that  death  did  not  meet  him  unprepared,  and 
that,  as  he  himself  said  of  his  friend  Mr.  Bruce,  the 
manner  of  whose  departure  so  much  resembled  his 
own,  "he  was  taken  away  without  pain,  without 
sickness,  without  confinement,  without  any  interrup- 
tion of  his  ministerial  work — after  he  had  finished  his 
labours,  and  when  he  was  standing  faithfully  at  his 
post."  He  might  not  have  said  of  himself,  though 
others  may  say  it  iovh'im,"^ se  satis  vixisse,vei  ad  vi- 
ta??!, vel  ad gloriani?''  The  whole  tenor  of  his  deport- 
ment and  conversation,  for  some  time  before  his  death, 
was  such  as  to  strike  all  who  closely  observed  it,  that 
he  was  fast  ripening  for  the  world  of  light  and  love. 
"The  remembrance  of  your  father,"  says  one  who 
had  frequent  opportunities  of  the  most  familiar  inter- 
course with  him  during  his  last  days,  "his  fortitude, 
his  meekness  of  wisdom,  the  holy  serenity  and  beau- 
tiful consistency  of  his  character — the  warm  interest 
he  took  in  every  worthy  object  that  called  it  forth  in 
this  world,  while  yet  he  seemed  with  regard  to  his 
home  in  heaven  like  a  man  who  had  his  ticket  taken 
out  for  a  journey,  though  he  had  not  yet  taken  his 
seat,  and  was  employing  the  interval  in  doing  all  he 
had  left  undone,  with  as  little  time  as  possible,  and 
yet  studiously  well,  as  what  was  done  for  the  last 
29* 


342  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

time; — all  these  traits  often  recur  with  a  most  cheer- 
ing, and  sometimes,  1  would  hope,  with  a  sanctifying 
influence  on  my  mind." 

Those  familiar  with  the  writings  of  Dr.  M'Crie 
will  here  perhaps  be  reminded  of  the  reflections 
which  he  makes  on  the  absence  of  all  information 
regarding  the  last  hours  of  Andrew  Melville,  and 
may  consider  them  applicable  to  his  own  case: — • 
"It  is  natural  for  us  to  desire  minute  information  re- 
specting the  decease  of  any  individual  in  whose  life 
we  have  taken  a  deep  interest;  and  we  cannot  help 
feeling  disappointed,  when  we  are  barely  told  that  'he 
died.'  But  laudable  as  this  curiosity  may  be,  and 
gratifying  and  useful  as  it  often  is  to  look  upon  the 
spiritual  portraiture  of  good  men  at  the  hour  of  their 
dissolution,  we  ought  not  to  forget  that  there  is  a  still 
more  decisive  and  unequivocal  test  of  character.  It 
was  by  the  faith  which  he  evinced  during  his  life,  that 
the  first  martyr  'obtained  witness  that  he  was  right- 
eous; and  by  it  he,  being  dead,  yet  speaketh.'  We 
have  no  reason  to  regret  being  left  without  any  au^ 
thentic  record  of  the  manner  in  which  the  apostles 
finished  their  course,  when  we  '  have  fully  known 
their  doctrine,  manner  of  life,  purpose,  long-suffering, 
charity,  patience,  persecutions,  afflictions.'"* 

The  interest  which  the  public  has  shown  with 
regard  to  the  manuscripts  of  Dr.  M'Crie,  and  espe- 
cially his  unfinished  Life  of  Calvin,  demands  a  parti- 
cular account  of  the  state  in  which  they  have  been 
left.  Few  of  these  manuscripts,  I  regret  to  say,  are 
in  such  a  state  of  preparation  as  would  render  it 
proper  to  publish  tliem.  The  manuscript  of  Calvin's 
Life  extends  no  farther  than  the  commencement  of 
a  fourth  chapter.  Of  the  three  chapters  which  have 
been  fairly  written  out,  and  which  may  be  considered 
fit  for  the  press,  the  first  contains  an  account  of  the 
early  life  of  the  Reformer,  bringing  it  down  to  the 
close  of  his  academical  career.  The  second  com- 
*  Life  of  Melville,  vol.  ii.,  p.  460. 


MANUSCRIPT  OF  CALVIN's  LIFE.  343 

mences  with  a  somewhat  detailed  history  of  the  in- 
troduction of  the  Reformation  into  France,  and  the 
sufferings  of  its  early  martyrs;  and  resuming  the 
biography  of  Calvin  at  1533,  when  he  embraced  the 
reformed  opinions,  prosecutes  it  to  1535,  giving  an 
account  of  the  Preface  to  his  "Institution  of  the 
Christian  Religion,"  but  "reserving  to  a  future  stage 
a  more  particular  account  of  the  work."  The  third 
chapter  is  wholly  occupied  with  a  minute  account  of 
the  city  of  Geneva,  "its  external  relations  and  inter- 
nal government,  and  the  leading  facts  connected  with 
the  introduction  of  the  Reformation  into  the  city  and 
its  territories."  The  fourth  chapter  recommences  the 
Life  of  Calvin  at  the  period  when  he  took  up  his 
residence  in  Geneva,  but  contains  only  two  or  three 
pages  which  are  occupied  with  an  account  of  the  Ana- 
baptists. The  whole  manuscript  extends  to  no  more 
than  105  quarto  pages. 

The  regret  which  must  be  felt  at  hearing  of  the 
imperfect  state  in  which  this  manuscript  has  been 
left,  must  be  increased  when  we  add,  that  there  is 
no  rude  sketch  from  which  we  might  have  gathered 
some  idea  of  the  manner  in  which  he  would  have 
treated  the  remaining  portion  of  the  Life.  His 
plan  of  composition,  as  we  have  already  remarked, 
was  to  work  up  his  matter  into  shape  as  he  went 
along.  Materials,  however,  there  are,  in  consider- 
able abundance,  chiefly  collected  by  the  son  to  whose 
labours  we  have  already  referred.  And  it  was  the 
fond  hope  of  the  family,  as  indeed  it  had  been  of  his 
father,  that  he  might  be  able,  at  some  future  period, 
to  complete  the  Vv'ork  to  the  advancement  of  which 
he  had  so  largely  contributed.  This  hope  was  con- 
siderably abated  by  the  discovery  of  the  imperfect 
state  in  which  the  manuscripts  had  been  left;  and 
since  then  it  has  pleased  an  all-wise  Providence  to 
extinguish  it,  by  removing  from  this  earthly  sphere 
the  person  on  whom  it  rested.  His  connexion  with 
this  much  desired  work,  may  justify  a  passing  notice 
of  him  in  the  present  Memoir. 


344  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

John  was  the  fourth  son  of  Dr.  M'Crie,  and  was 
born  May  19,  1808.  From  his  earliest  years  he  was 
remarkable  for  sedateness  and  gentleness  of  manners, 
thoughtfulness  of  mind,  and  prudence  of  behaviour. 
He  passed  through  the  ordinary  course  of  education, 
literary  and  philosophical,  in  the  High  School  and 
University  of  Edinburgh,  distinguishing  himself  par- 
ticularly in  the  classical  department,  and  gaining  the 
high  approbation  of  his  teachers.  Though  always 
serious  in  his  deportment  and  attentive  to  his  reli- 
gious duties,  it  was  not  till  the  year  1829  that  he 
acknowledged  himself  to  have  experienced  a  decided 
change  of  heart,  and  the  avowal  was  made  to  his 
father  in  terms  which  left  no  doubt  of  the  genuine 
character  of  his  experience.  He  was  then  employed 
as  tutor  in  the  excellent  family  of  James  Ferguson, 
Esq.,  of  Kinmundy.  John  had  devoted  himself  to 
the  holy  ministry,  and  completed  the  usual  course  of 
study  preparatory  to  receiving  license;  but  having 
been  requested  to  accompany  two  young  gentlemen 
on  a  tour  to  the  Continent,  he  embraced  the  oppor- 
tunity of  gratifying  his  ardent  thirst  for  knowledge 
and  turn  for  observation,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  set 
out  on  his  travels  in  the  end  of  1832.  On  leaving 
Geneva,  which  they  made  their  head-quarters  for 
some  time,  he  and  his  youthful  companions  travelled 
through  France,  Germany,  Switzerland  and  Italy, 
visiting  all  the  most  celebrated  cities,  and  interesting 
localities  in  these  countries.  His  letfers  written  to 
his  friends  during  these  excursions,  abound  with 
remarks  on  the  scenery,  the  manners  of  the  people, 
and  incidents  of  travel,  which  display  no  ordinary 
powers  of  description.  At  Vienna,  where  he  had 
just  arrived  in  great  spirits  after  a  pleasant  excursion, 
and  in  the  open  cafe,  among  a  crowd  of  strangers,  who 
were  chatting  in  careless  glee  around  him,  he  read 
the  letter  which  conveyed  the  stunning  intelligence 
of  his  father's  death.  This  blow,  which  stript  home 
of  its  main  attraction,  and  deprived  him  of  the  reward 
he  had  fondly  anticipated  for  all  his  labours,  detcr^- 


MR.  JOHN  M'CRIE.  345 

mined  him  to  remain  some  time  longer  on  the  Conti- 
nent. During  his  residence  there,  he  had  formed  an 
acquaintance  with  a  variety  of  h'terary  characters, 
clergymen  and  professors  in  the  universities,  with 
whom,  from  his  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  French 
and  German  languages,  he  was  able  to  converse  with 
facilit}',  and  to  whose  kindness,  his  engaging  man- 
ners, his  piety,  and  his  good  sense  were  powerful  re- 
commendations. But  with  all  his  admiration  for  the 
character  of  the  Germans,  and  the  scholarship  of  their 
divines,  he  was  quite  alive  to  the  mischief  of  German 
neology;  his  sound  religious  principles  resisted  the 
poison  of  Continental  infidelity;  while  his  heart  was 
fairly  won  by  the  warmth,  the  simplicity,  and  the 
liberality  of  Continental  piety.  In  the  summer  of 
1S36,  the  Directors  of  the  Normal  Seminary  of  Glas- 
gow having,  unsolicited  on  his  part,  offered  him  the 
situation  of  Rector  in  that  institution,  he  accepted  of 
the  charge;  and  after  paying  a  short  visit  to  his 
friends,  he  returned  to  the  Continent  for  the  purpose 
of  examining  its  schools,  and  procuring  information 
on  the  various  modes  of  infant  and  juvenile  tuition. 
His  whole  attention  was  now  bent  on  the  subject  of 
education;  and  after  visiting  the  most  famous  institu- 
tions abroad,  particularly  those  of  Prussia,  and  pro- 
curing a  great  mass  of  information,  he  returned  in  the 
autumn,  and  commenced  his  labours  in  Glasgow, 
Entering  with  enthusiasm  into  his  profession — anx- 
ious to  do  his  best  to  advance  the  interests  of  an  in- 
stitution which  had  lately  commenced  its  operations, 
and  demanded  all  his  time, — he  literally  gave  himself 
no  rest.  Besides  superintending  the  infant  and 
juvenile  schools,  and  directing  the  exercises  of  those 
who  came  to  study  the  method  of  tuition,  he  deli- 
vered several  public  lectures  on  Education,  the  labour 
bestowed  upon  which  was  no  less  conspicuous  than 
the  ingenuity  of  their  matter  and  the  beauty  of  their 
style.  These  exertions  proved  too  severe  for  his  na- 
turally delicate  constitution;  and  in  August  1837,  he 
was  attacked  with  typhus  fever,  and  fell  a  victim  to  its 


346  LIFE  OF  DR.  M^CRIE. 

effects,  on  the  4th  of  October  following,  in  the  29th 
year  of  his  age. 

Mild,  affable,  and  polite  in  his  manners;  affec- 
tionate and  obliging  in  his  disposition;  playful  and 
humorous,  and  yet  bearing  about  him  an  air  of  gravity 
and  authority,  and  which  gave  him  an  influence,  even 
in  early  life,  over  his  more  volatile  companions;  sa- 
gacious in  discerning  character;  with  an  acute  judg- 
ment and  a  lively  imagination, — the  leading  features 
of  his  mind,  as  well  as  those  of  his  countenance,  ex- 
hibited a  very  close  resemblance  to  those  of  his  fa- 
ther. In  drawing  this  sketch  of  a  departed  brother, 
I  am  not  conscious  of  having,  in  the  fondness  of  affec- 
tion, overstepped  the  cool  unbiassed  judgment  of  a 
stranger.  In  truth,  none  could  meet  without  ad- 
miring him,  or  know  without  loving  him.  His  pupils 
looked  up  to  him  with  mingled  affection  and  respect. 
And  his  friends  will,  I  fear,  consider  this  tribute  to 
his  memory  as  a  very  inadequate  compensation  for  the 
omission  hitherto  of  all  public  notice  of  one  who  pro- 
mised so  well,  and  whose  early  death  they  have  so 
deeply  deplored. 

The  expectation  of  seeing  the  Life  of  Calvin  com- 
pleted, having  been  thus  twice  disappointed  by  the 
hand  of  death,  the  present  writer  must  confess  that 
he  is  still  at  a  loss,  whether  to  satisfy  the  curiosity 
of  the  public  by  printing  his  father's  manuscript  in 
the  fragmentary  shape  in  which  it  has  been  left  by 
him,  or  to  comply  with  the  advice  of  his  friends,  who 
urge  him  to  undertake  the  completion  of  the  work. 
Anxious  as  he  is  to  escape,  honourably,  from  a  task 
for  which  he  feels  himself  so  incompetent,  he  is 
willing  to  be  regulated,  in  a  great  measure,  by  the 
decision  of  the  public,  who  have  now,  after  knowing 
the  exact  state  in  which  the  manuscript  has  been  left, 
an  opportunity  of  judging  how  far  it  would  be  proper 
to  publish  it  as  it  stands. 


CFIAPTER  VIII. 

HIS    PRIVATE    CHARACTER. 

It  may  now  be  expected  that  this  memoir  should 
close  with  a  summary  estimate  of  the  character  of  its 
subject.  From  this  part  of  his  task  the  author  is 
anxious  to  escape,  and  would  fain  shelter  himself,  at 
the  termination  of  his  undertaking,  under  the  plea  of 
that  nearness  of  relationship  which  ought,  perhaps, 
to  have  deterred  him  from  ever  commencing  it.  He 
has  failed,  indeed,  in  the  great  object  he  proposed  to 
himself,  if  he  has  not  already  presented  the  picture 
in  such  lights  as  may  enable  every  reader  to  form  an 
adequate  conception  of  the  leading  features  of  the 
original.  At  the  same  time,  there  are  certain  do- 
mestic traits  and  miscellaneous  illustrations  of  cha- 
racter, which  could  not  be  omitted  without  leaving 
the  portrait  unfinished;  and  to  a  brief  delineation  of 
which,  as  they  could  not  well  be  introduced  into  the 
narrative  of  his  life,  Ihis  chapter  may  be  devoted. 

Every  one  who  knew  Dr.  M'Crie  must  have  been 
struck  with  the  singular  combination,  in  his  charac- 
ter, of  qualities  seldom  found  so  largely  and  harmo- 
niously blended  in  the  same  individual.  In  his  na- 
tural disposition,  there  was  a  deep-toned  energy,  and 
what,  in  the  best  sense,  may  be  styled  passion,  united 
with  a  remarkable  degree  of  self-control; — great 
caution  with  great  courage — great  deliberation  with 
great  decision — great  indulgence  and  benevolence 
with  great  sternness  and  severity.  Intense  feeling 
was,  no  doubt,  one  of  the  standard  features  of  his 
mind,  combined  with  a  temper  constitutionally  warm 
and  even  irritable;  but  so  completely  had  this  been 
triumphed  over,  and  so  firmly  was  it  kept  in  check, 


348  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

that  to  many  who  knew  him  superficially,  the  pre- 
dominating trait  may  have  appeared  to  be  caution. 
He  often  spoke  in  high  terms  of  the  power  which  a 
man  might  gain  over  himself,  in  ruling  his  own  spirit; 
and  in  this,  I  believe,  he  spoke  from  personal  expe- 
rience; for  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  trials 
and  mortifications  which  he  met  witl)  in  early  life, 
had  been  conscientiously  improved  by  him  for  check- 
ing the  exuberance  of  youthful  zeal,  and  the  excesses 
of  natural  temperament.    Some  qualities  he  possessed, 
which  alone,  or  with  other  accompaniments,  might 
have  been  shades  to  his  character,  but  which,  as  they 
were  found  in  him,  rather  gave  effect  to  the  light  of 
the  picture.    A  companion  of  his  at  college  used  to  re- 
mark of  him,  that  "M'Crie  had  too  much  pride  to  be 
vain."     If  he  had  any  thing  which  could  be  called 
pride,  it  was  of  that  sort  which  holds  in  high  disdain 
every   thing  approaching  to   meanness,  and  it  was 
tempered  with  such  a  lowly  abasing  estimate  of  him- 
self, and   such   a   condescending   goodness   towards 
others,  as  hardly  to   merit  the   odious  appellation. 
"Faults  he  surely  had,"  says  one  who  spoke  from 
early  and  intimate  acquaintance:  "We  have  known 
him  long,  and  cannot  say  we  ever  discovered  them, 
except  in,  or  connected  with,  the  excess  of  virtues, 
excessive  disinterestedness — a  faulty  unselfishness — 
an  inverted  observation  of  himself  and  others — turn- 
ing the  diminishing  glass  on  himself  and  the  magni- 
fying on  others.     He  could  feel  keenly,  but  it  was 
for  the  distresses  of  others;  or  if  he  was  touched  on 
his  own  account,  it  was  in  scorn  of  some  imputed 
meanness,   or   implied   waijt  of  confidence;   if  the 
warmth  of  indignant  expression  ever  escaped  from 
him,  it  was  in  defence  of  an  injured  friend,  or  of  the 
insulted  dignity  of  truth."     It  may  be  added,  that  if 
his  own  high-mindedness  sometimes  rated  individuals 
or  classes  of  men  too  low,  he  was  oftener  generous, 
and  ever  ready  to  seize  on  the  first  favourable  symp- 
tom which  could  warrant  him  to  alter  his  opinion. 
In  one  of  his  letters,  he  says  of  himself,  "When 


HIS  PRIVATE   CHARACTER.  349 

required  to  speak  or  to  write,  I  never  in  my  life  could 
speak  or  write  well;  and  when  I  use  strong  language, 
it  is  either  from  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  or  under 
the  impression  of  real  or  conceived  opposition  and 
resistance  to  what  I  say." 

While  on  this  part  of  his  character,  I  cannot  avoid 
observing,  that  as  he  approaclied  the  close  of  his 
career,  the  kindness  and  gentleness  of  his  heart  pre- 
dominated so  far  over  the  other  qualities  by  which 
they  had  been  formerly  modified,  as  to  cast  them 
almost  completely  into  the  shade.  The  severer  fea- 
tures of  his  character  became  gradually  softened; 
until  there  remained  the  nearly  unmingled  aspect  of 
brotherly  charity,  mildness,  forbearance  and  tender- 
ness, proclaiming  his  growing  mectness  for  the  better 
world. 

Among  the  lesser  traits  by  which  he  was  distin- 
guished in  private  life,  he  displayed  no  small  degree 
of  what  has  been  termed  moral  courage.  Had  deli- 
cacy permitted,  instances  might  have  been  mentioned, 
in  which  he  manifested  a  contempt  of  danger,  where 
persons  of  much  stronger  nerves  have  shrunk,  and 
exposed  his  life  to  hazard,  with  a  resolution  which, 
in  other  circumstances,  might  have  gained  him  the 
distinction  of  the  hero.  In  connexion  with  this, 
was  his  remarkable  fortitude  in  the  endurance  of 
pain,  to  which,  in  many  of  its  shapes,  he  was  fre- 
quently a  martj-r.  As  a  curious  instance  of  this,  I 
may  mention,  that  having  hurt  one  of  his  feet  with  a 
tight  hoof,  the  surgeon  recommended  a  small  blister 
to  be  applied  to  the  wounded  part;  he,  however,  ex- 
tended the  blister  nearly  over  the  whole  foot,  so  as 
to  subject  himself  to  extreme  agony;  and  on  being 
asked  why  he  had  done  so,  he  replied,  that  he  had 
supposed  it  would  be  more  effectual, — and  as  for  the 
pain,  he  had  felt  curious  to  know  hoiv  much  he  could 
bear. 

Two  other  features  of  his  private  character,  which 
may  be  said  to  have  established  him  in  the  respect 
and  affection  which  his  other  qualities  inspired,  were 
'30 


350  LIFE  OP  DU.  M'CRIE. 

his  singular  prudence  and  unaffected  modesty.  By 
the  first  of  these  qualifications,  he  was  enabled,  with- 
out the  aid  of  craft  or  circumvention,  and  without 
sacrifice  of  principle,  to  steer  his  way,  both  in  public 
and  private  life,  and  through  the  most  trying  circum- 
stances, with  a  blamelessness  seldom  exemplified,  and 
which,  we  trulj^  believe,  has  not  left  him,  if  indeed 
he  ever  found,  a  single  enemy  upon  earth.  His  mo- 
desty was  no  less  conspicuous.  In  truth,  he  seemed 
to  be  as  much  concerned  to  escape  from  human  ap- 
plause, as  other  men  are  to  gain  it.  In  his  efforts  to 
do  so,  however,  there  was  no  semblance  of  affectation ; 
it  was  his  native  temper,  for  which  he  himself  took 
no  credit,  and  to  avoid  the  praise  of  which  he  would 
even  sometimes  do  violence  to  his  own  feelings;  ex- 
emplifying the  beautiful  picture  which  Leighton  has 
drawn  of  humility:  "  He  would  not  care  to  do  some 
things  on  purpose  that  might  seem  arrogant,  to  carry 
humility  unseen,  that  doth  so  naturally  delight  in 
covering  all  graces,  and  is  sorry  that  it  cannot  do  so 
without  being  seen  itself"  Nothing,  indeed,  struck 
a  stranger  more,  on  his  first  introduction  to  Dr. 
M'Crie,  than  the  simplicity  of  his  character — the 
total  absence  of  all  pretence — a  quality  which  made 
the  poorest  member  of  his  flock  feel  as  much  at  ease 
in  his  society,  as  he  made  himself  in  that  of  the 
greatest  of  his  visiters. 

Of  the  higher  elements  which  entered  into  the 
composition  of  his  character,  I  must  confess,  though 
at  the  risk  of  exposing  myself  to  the  charge  of  ex- 
travagant and  unbecoming  eulogy,  that  I  cannot  re- 
fer the  reader  to  a  more  faithful  and  striking  exhibi- 
tion, than  that  which  he  himself  has  given  in  the  first 
two  of  his  published  Sermons,  which  describe  the 
character  of  Paul.  Into  this  elaborate,  and,  I  ven- 
ture to  say,  masterly  picture  of  the  large-minded  and 
loving-hearted  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  he  may  be 
said,  to  use  a  common  expression  in  a  somewhat  un- 
usual sense,  to  have  "thrown  his  whole  soul:" — for, 
in  tracino;  the  leadin":  features  of  that  character,  his 


Ills  PRIVATE  CHARACTER.  351 

hand,  guided  by  internal  sympathy,  has  unconscious- 
ly, no  doubt,  and  unintentionally,  but  most  truly, 
drawn  his  own  likeness.  And  when  I  mention  "  the 
discriminating  features  in  the  character  of  Paul,"  as 
drawn  by  the  preacher,  1  have  no  doubt  that  many 
will  at  once  recognise  the  similitude.  Pie  describes 
him  as  "distinguished  for  humility" — and  for  "dis- 
interestedness;"— as  "a  man  of  an  elevated  and  en- 
larged soul;" — as  "eminent  for  intrepidity  and  inde- 
pendence " — "his  courage  being  characterized  by 
prudence,"  and  "his  independence  not  that  of  selfish- 
ness, pride,  or  affectation;" — "his  heart  was  tender, 
and  his  affections  warm;" — and  "his  ardent  zeal  for 
religion  was  tempered  with  the  greatest  moderation." 
Many  of  the  reflections  in  these  two  discourses  were 
the  fruit  of  a  varied  and  extensive  course  of  reading 
on  the  subject  of  "True  Greatness;"  a  fragment  of 
a  proposed  essay  on  which,  left  among  his  manu- 
scripts, is  still  more  characteristic  of  the  writer. 

Without  entering  farther  into  general  description, 
I  shall  merely  add,  that  the  genuine  uprightness,  and 
conscientious  disinterestedness  of  his  mind,  which 
were  abundantly  proved  by  his  public  life,  distin- 
guished all  his  private  transactions.  Few  men,  per- 
haps, who  have  occupied  so  prominent  a  place  in  the 
public  eye,  have  enjoyed,  in  the  estimation  of  the 
world,  and  even  of  the  enemies  of  religion,  a  more 
unsullied  or  unsuspected  character.  For  the  follow- 
ing anecdote  I  am  indebted  to  Sir  George  Sinclair. 
This  gentleman,  while  attending  the  classes  of  the 
University,  happened  to  get  into  conversation  with  a 
medical  student,  a  man  of  learning  and  talents,  but 
thoroughly  skeptical  in  his  religious  opinions.  The 
infidel  stoutly  maintained  that  no  clergyman,  pos- 
sessed of  any  mental  powers  or  liberal  acquirements, 
really  believed  in  the  truth  of  what  he  preached.  Sir 
George  mentioned  several  clergymen  to  whom,  in  his 
opinion,  such  a  suspicion  could  never  be  attached. 

*'Can  you  suppose,"  he  asked,  "that  Dr. is  not 

a  sincere  believer  in  the  tenets  which  he  preaches?" 


352  LIFE   OF  DR.   M'CRIE. 

"Oh,  he  is  a  man  of  the  world;  he  cannot  believe 

them."     «What  say  you  to  Dr. ?"     "He  is 

too  much  of  a  scientific  man  to  be  a  believer,"  said 
the  other,  with  a  look  of  disdain.  "Well  then,"  said 
Sir  George,  "Can  you  say  that  Dr.  M'Crie  does  not 
believe  in  the  truths  which  he  delivers?"  The  coun- 
tenance of  the  skeptic  fell,  and  after  a  pause  he  replied, 
"You  have  the  advantage  of  me  now;  I  must  grant 
you  that  Dr.  M'Crie  would  not  preach  such  doctrines, 
if  he  did  not  believe  them." 

He  carried  the  same  spirit  of  superiority  to  all  sel- 
fish and  mercenary  motives  into  his  literary  engage- 
ments. On  this  ground  he  refused  many  an  applica- 
tion made  to  him  by  booksellers,  who  were  anxious 
to  employ  his  pen:  nothing  was  more  sure  to  defeat 
their  object,  than  to  commence  their  solicitations  by 
an  offer  of  money.  On  one  occasion,  in  particular,  Mr. 
Constable,  who  was  eager  to  engage  him  in  writing 
some  short  and  popular  lives  of  the  Reformers  for  his 
Miscellany,  waited  upon  him,  and  enlarging  his  offer 
to  a  thousand  guineas  for  three  volumes  of  no  great 
size,  he  said,  "I  am  going  to  Abbotsford  to-morrow, 
and  wish  to  have  it  to  say  to  Sir  Walter  Scott  that  you 
have  consented."  "Mr.  Constable,"  was  the  reply, 
"  I  should  be  sorry  if  you  had  it  to  say  to  Sir  Walter, 
that  a  descendant  of  tlie  old  Covenanters  could  be 
bribed  by  money  to  do  a  thing  he  was  not  inclined  to 
do."     And  so  tliey  parted. 

He  was  a  professed  hater  of  all  literary  jobs,  in 
which  light  he  regarded  the  greater  part  of  those 
popular  abridgments  now  so  common.  To  abridg- 
ments, indeed,  in  all  their  shapes,  and  particularly 
those  of  an  historical  kind,  he  had  an  invincible  re- 
pugnance, regarding  them, it  would  seem,  with  Bacon, 
as  "the   corrupters  and   moths  of  history;"*    and 

*  "  Epitomes  of  history  are  the  corrupters  and  moths,  that  have 
fretted  and  corroded  many  sound  and  excellent  bodies  of  history, 
and  reduced  them  to  base  and  unprofitable  dregs;  whence  all 
men  of  sound  judoruient  declare,  the  use  of  them  ought  to  bo 
banished.'' — Bacon's  Works,  vol.  i.  p.  51. 


HIS  PRIVATE  CHARACTER.  353 

there  was  no  subject  on  which  he  was  more  in  danger 
of  losing  his  temper.  "You  desire  me,"  he  writes 
to  one  of  his  correspondents,  '•'  to  advise  you  as  to  the 
plan  of  an  article  for  the  Edinburgh  Encyclopedia,  to 
be  entitled  Ecclesiastical  History.  I  would  just  as 
soon  sit  down  and  write  the  Lord's  Prayer,  or  the 
Ten  Commandments,  or  the  Creed,  wilhin  the  cir- 
cumference of  a  half-crown,  or  a  shilling,  or  a  six- 
pence— as  write  such  an  article  within  any  bounds 
which  an  Encyclopedist  would  allot  for  it.  The 
thing  may  be  done,  but  cui  bono?  And  why  should 
precious  time  be  wasted  on  it?  The  fact  is,  I  am  a  de- 
clared enemy  to  Encyclopedias,  and  I  cannot  endure 
that  any  person  should  write  for  them,  who  possesses 
talents  above  those  of  a  common  copyist  or  abridger. 
They  are  popular  with  the  present  age  (just  as  tracts, 
magazines,  and  reviews  are,)  because  they  give  the 
superficial  reader  a  smattering  of  every  thing,  with- 
out making  him  thoroughly  acquainted  with  any 
thing.  If  a  person  should  give  himself  the  trouble 
of  reading  and  thinking  on  any  subject,  should  com- 
press his  materials  into  one-twentieth  of  the  bounds 
which  they  filled,  and  should  finish  an  original  article, 
he  will  be  mortified  on  seeing  it  environed  with  arti- 
cles that  have  been  clumsily  abridged,or  coolly  copied 
from  the  most  common  authorities.  Or  if  he  be  at 
the  pains  to  turn  up  a  collateral  article,  he  will  be 
grieved  at  finding  the  principles  which  he  had  esta- 
blished, and  the  facts  which  he  had  authenticated, 
contradicted  by  some  loose  and  careless  writer,  who 
was  only  anxious  to  eke  out  his  paper  to  entitle  him 
to  the  £ —  per  sheet.  In  short,  I  look  upon  them, 
as  projected  and  engaged  in  by  the  greater  part,  in 
the  light  of  money-jobs;  and  from  such  quarters  1  do 
not  expect  that  either  science  or  religion  will  be  pro- 
moted. I  would  have  learned  men  to  labour  in  that 
field  to  which  their  genius  and  taste  inclined  them, 
free  from  bondage  and  unnatural  restraint — to  bring 
tlieir  productions  to  the  public  market — and,  if  they 
should  fail,  let  them  heroically  starve  and  die  on  the 
30* 


354  LIFE   OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

bed  of  literary  glory — a  garret.  I  have  lectured  our 
friend  [Dr.]  Thomson  on  this  head,  until,  good- 
natured  as  you  know  he  is,  he  has  been  inwardly 
angry." 

<' Were  I  called  upon,"  says  Dr.  Watson,  in  a  letter 
to  the  author,  "to  give  a  stranger  an  idea  of  your 
father,  I  should  certainly  think  my  likeness  defective 
in  an  essential  point,  if  I  did  not  dwell  upon  the 
masculine  strength  of  his  character — the  determi- 
nation with  which  he  adhered  to  his  impressions  of 
truth  and  convictions  of  duty — the  sternness  with 
which  he  could  reprobate  lax  opinions  or  vicious 
practices — the  serious  air  which  bespoke  hini  occu- 
pied with  important  thoughts  and  solemn  prospects. 
But  I  should  as  certainly  think  my  portrait  a  failure, 
or  make  it  so,  if  1  did  not  dwell  to  the  full  as  much 
upon  the  mildness,  benevolence,  benignity,  that 
marked  his  ordinary  demeanour — his  unpretending 
courtesy  to  strangers — his  readiness  to  oblige,  even 
when  by  doing  so  he  exposed  himself  to  trouble,  loss 
of  time,  and  what  to  some  is  still  more  costly,  the 
communication  of  important  materials — the  result  of 
laborious  inquiries,  and  bearing  upon  objects  con- 
nected with  his  own  literary  undertakings.  Then 
his  warm  affectionate  manner  to  his  friends — his 
entire  openness  and  dismissal  of  every  thing  like  re- 
serve, the  instant  that  intercourse  ripened  into  friend- 
jship — the  easy  unsuspicious  confidence  of  his  conver- 
sation with  his  intimates — the  play  of  fancy — the 
lively  humour — the  wit  of  his  fire-side  talk — none  of 
these  should  be  forgotten." 

The  following  communication  from  another  friend,* 
who  had  frequent  and  familiar  intercourse  with  him 
during  the  last  years  of  his  life,  may  aftbrd  the  reader 
a  peep  into  the  study,  and  illustrate  the  general  view 
which  has  been  given  of  his  private  character: — 

^  David  D.  Scott,  Esq.  This  accomplished  gentleman,  now 
in  England,  was  the  author  of  a  much  admired  notice  of  Dr. 
M'Crie,  which  appeared  in  the  Edinburgh  Courant,  the  day  after 
iiis  death. 


HIS  PRIVATE  CHARACTER.  355 

"There  were  features  in  your  father's  character 
wliich  all  could  conceive,  and  most  to  a  certain  de- 
gree appreciate.  Such  was  his  simplicity,  a  quality 
that  increases  the  difficulty  of  recalling  his  words, 
for  he  had  not  a  particle  of  that  affectation  of  being 
an  original  and  powerful  talker,  which  in  Samuel 
Johnson  led  Cowper  to  pronounce  him  to  be  a  cox- 
comb, and  of  which  Robert  Hall  had  apparently  no 
small  measure,  derived  perhaps  from  his  respect  for 
Johnson.  Never  was  there  a  less  flashy  person  than 
Dr.  M'Crie — one  who  sought  less  to  make  a  display 
by  pointed  expressions — paradoxical  assertions — or 
antithetical  prettinesses.  And  yet  great  native  dig- 
nity of  thought,  and  a  well-cultivated  taste  kept  him 
from  marring  the  simplicity  of  his  conversation  by 
any  thing  slovenly  or  vulgar.  His  conscientiousness 
— his  uprightness — the  straightforward  and  resolute 
morality  he  displayed  on  all  occasions— his  loathing 
for  duplicity  of  every  kind  and  degree — his  kindness 
to  all,  and  the  delicacy  of  his  attentions  to  the 
poorest  and  the  most  despised — all  these  character- 
istics must  surely  have  fixed  themselves  in  the  minds 
of  the  various  members  of  his  flock.  But  in  other 
respects  few  could  appreciate  your  father's  character 
as  it  deserved.  People  who  consume  their  days  in 
trifling  occupations,  and  who  think  nothing  of  spend- 
ing whole  hours  in  meaningless  gossip, — nay,  persons 
far  more  greedy  of  a  due  employment  of  time,  but 
of  less  reach  of  mind  and  depth  of  character,  never 
can  appreciate  aright  the  disinterested  patience  with 
which  he  would  hear  out  a  long  story  from  some 
prosy  person,  or  walk  far  to  see  some  poor  body — or 
even,  as  I  have  known  him  do,  go  six  miles  out  of 
town  that  he  might  communicate  by  word  of  mouth 
and  with  the  greatest  delicacy,  some  painful  news  to 
a  servant  maid,  while  every  moment  lost  to  him  from 
his  historical  studies,  foreign  correspondence,  and 
other  matters  to  him  intensely  interesting,  was  dearly 
•lost,  and  while  in  fact  he  was  wearing  out  his  pre- 


356  LIFE   OF  DR.   M'CRIE. 

cious  life  by  stealing  from  sleep  the  time  that  he  was 
to  substitute  for  what  was  thus  liberally  given  away, 
by  his  rare  union  of  Christian  principle  and  con- 
scientious kindness, 

<'I  need  not  say  how  often  the  suspense  of  the 
judgment,  in  weighing  evidence,  becomes  habitual, 
and  degenerates  into  skepticism  and  indifference.  It 
appears  to  me,  that  towards  the  close  of  life  particu- 
larly, your  father  had  arrived  at  a  very  happy  state 
of  mind  in  this  respect.  True,  he  greatly  offended 
some  whom  he  thought  at  the  time  over  timid  in 
their  views  and  practice.  But  on  the  whole  he  was 
a  patient  judge,  both  of  opinions  and  of  men ;  and 
yet  I  need  not  remind  you  how  far  this  fairness 
was  removed  from  indifference  and  skepticism.  No 
virtues  associated  with  what  was  false — no  vices 
blended  with  what  was  good  or  true  in  men  or  in 
institutions,  ever  blurred  to  his  mind  the  essential 
difference  between  truth  and  error, — virtue  and  vice. 
His  faith  must  have  been  of  the  firmest  kind.  How 
many  in  the  circumstances  which  ended  in  his  depo- 
sition, would  have  been  soured  for  life,  and  even  have 
left  the  ministry  altogether  rather  than  be  thrown 
into  the  dilemma  of  associating  at  the  expense  of  his 
conscience,  with  men  who  were  either  deceivers  or 
dupes,  or  of  being  isolated  in  the  midst  of  society  as 
he  chose  to  be, — shunned  even  by  all  the  evangelical 
ministers  of  Edinburgh,  as  a  narrow-minded  and  ob- 
stinate bigot — a  man  who  could  bring  his  wife  and 
family  to  poverty  and  contempt  rather  than  abate 
one  jot  of  his  antiquated  and  metaphysical  scruples. 
What  a  firm  trust  in  the  God  of  truth,  and  love  of 
truth  itself,  must  he  have  had,  when  the  sneers  of  his 
brethren  in  the  Cliurch  were  re-echoed  by  the  wits  of 
the  bar,  and  the  judges  on  the  bencli, — the  one  seeing 
the  same  question,  and  its  importance,  involved  in 
what  appeared  mere  metaphysical  subtleties,  which 
the  other  viewed  as  a  great  practical  principle  which 
was  in  all  time  to  affect  the  destinies  of  the  British 


HIS  PRIVATE  CHARACTER.  357 

empire, — and  what  a  singular  rebuke  those  sneers 
have  received  from  the  greatest  and  most  practical 
statesmen  of  the  age! 

'•I  was  much  struck  with  the  mild  judgment  he 
would  pass  on  men  who  differed  from  him,  provided 
there  was  nothing  double  in  their  dealings,  for  dupli- 
city seemed  to  stir  his  bile  beyond  measure.  Never 
shall  I  forget  the  placid  look  with  which  he  said  one 
morning,  'Well,  there's  a  man  dead  who  took  the 
trouble  of  coming  eighty  miles  to  depose  me  from 
the  ministry,  I  am  sure  I  have  had  no  resentment 
towards  him.  No  doubt  he  did  what  he  considered 
it  his  duty  to  do.  Yet  it  was  hard  with  a  wife  and 
family  to  be  thrown  upon  the  world!'  He  then  en- 
tered on  a  most  affecting  account  of  his  difficulties 
on  that  occasion.  And  '3'et,'  said  he,  'after  I  had 
published  the  Life  of  Knox,  Dugald  Stewart  did  not 
think  it  beneath  him  to  come  up  the  long  stair  I 
lived  at  the  head  of,  and  to  pay  me  a  visit.'*     But  I 

*  The  following  anecdote  rests  on  pretty  good  authority,  and 
the  latter  part  being  certainly  true,  I  am  disposed  to  believe  there 
must  have  been  some  foundation  for  the  first,  though  some  of  the 
circumstances  are  not  correctly  stated: — "  When  the  life  of  John 
Knox  was  first  published,  as  nothing  was  expected,  a  priori,  from 
the  work  of  a  seceding  clergyman,  its  great  merit  was  not  per- 
ceived for  some  time,  especially  by  the  literati.  The  way  in 
which  it  first  fell  under  the  notice  of  the  author's  illustrious  con- 
temporary. Professor  Dugald  Stewart,  was  very  remarkable. 
The  professor,  one  Sunday,  being  confined  at  home  with  illness, 
and  all  the  family  at  church,  except  his  man-servant,  he  had 
occasion  to  ring  his  bell,  to  call  up  this  faithful  old  attendant. 
To  his  surprise,  John  did  not  make  his  appearance.  Again  he 
rung  the  bell;  but  still  without  effect.  After  ringing  a  third  time, 
he  thought  it  necessary  to  step  down  stairs,  to  see  what  could 
possibly  be  the  occasion  of  John's  apparent  negligence.  On 
opening  the  door  of  the  old  man's  apartment,  he  found  him 
sitting  at  a  little  table,  his  eyes  bent  attentively  upon  a  book, 
and  his  whole  soul  apparently  engrossed  by  what  he  was  read- 
ing. It  was  only  on  being  siiaken  by  the  shoulder  that  he  rose 
from  the  trance  of  rapture  in  which  he  had  been  held  by  the 
book.  Mr.  Stewart  was,  of  course,  much  surprised  at  the  sudden 
turn  which  John's  mind  seemed  to  have  taken  in  favour  of 
literature;  and  he  had  the  curiosity  to  ask  what  book  it  was  which 
had  captivated  him  so  wonderfully.  '  Why,  sir,'  said  John,  '  it's 
a  book  that  my  minister  has  written,  and  really  its  a  grand  ane.' 
The  professor  said  he  would  take  it  up  with  him  to  his  room,  and 


358  LIFE  OF  Dn.  m'crie. 

feel  myself  quite  unable  (o  go  over  these  conversa- 
tions. He  seemed  to  recall  such  past  incidents  in  his 
life,  partly  in  acknowledgment  of  the  goodness  of 
Providence  in  carrying  him  through  difficulties — 
partly  to  cheer  me  under  disappointment  and  trial. 

"In  regard  to  public  questions,  1  need  hardly  say, 
that  during  the  period  of  my  intercourse  with  your 
father,  he  seemed  quite  disconcerted  at  the  confusion 
of  opinions  among  parties  bearing  old  names  to  which 
they  had  gradually  ceased  to  have  any  proper  claim. 
He  venerated  the  name  of  Whig,  because  of  its 
associations,  and  no  less  disliked  that  of  Tory.  And 
yet  he  too  plainly  saw  that  the  one  had  acquired  a 
new  character  with  which  he  could  have  no  sympathy 
in  many  points ;  and  that  the  other  was  borne  by 
not  a  few  representatives  of  families  who  were  for- 
merly known  as  Whigs,  with  far  less  deviation  from 
their  ancestral  Whig  principles — in  some  cases,  with 
no  appreciable  difference  of  that  kind  at  all.  In 
this  confusion,  however,  of  names  and  opinions,  your 
father's  own  course  was  not  to  be  influenced  by  any 
party  motives;  and  to  him  alone,  more  perhaps  than 
to  any  other  ten  men  in  Scotland,  we  owe  the  forma- 
tion of  the  party,  now,  I  believe,  called  generally 
Church  Whigs,  whose  distinct  existence  is  of  the 
most  vital  consequence  to  the  continuation  of  our 
most  valuable  national  traditions. 

"In  church  affairs  he  was  jealous,  I  thought  to  a 
fault,  of  ministers  as  a  body.  This  feeling  he  was  at 
no  pains  to  conceal.  The  interest  taken  in  the  church 
courts  by  elders,  seemed  to  gratify  him,  and  great 


try  what  he  could  make  of  it.  He  accordingly  did  so,  and  being 
once  commenced,  he  found  it  fairly  impossible  to  withdraw  him- 
self till  he  had  completed  the  perusal  of  its  whole  contents.  He 
next  day  waited  upon  Dr.  M'Crie,  to  express  the  admiration  he 
entertained  for  his  performance;  which  he  did  in  the  highest 
possible  terms.  The  author  bowed  to  Mr.  Stewart's  praises  with 
the  modesty  of  real  genius,  and  replied  by  a  compliment  as 
exquisite  as  it  was  brief, — '  Pulchrum  est  laudari  a  laudato,' — It 
is  delightful  to  be  praised  by  one  who  has  himself  gained  the 
praise  of  mankind.'' 


HIS  PRIVATE  CHARACTER.  359 

was  his  delight  on  learning  that  the  practice  of  having 
family  worship  was  reviving  in  the  houses  of  so  many 
of  our  country  gentlemen.  He  had  no  dislike  of  a 
landed  aristocracy,  and  considered  even  some  of  the 
amusements  of  that  class,  to  which  others  might  object, 
as  not  unbecoming, — in  particular,  hunting. 

"He  deplored  a  decay  of  that  high  conscientious 
feeling,  which,  he  said,  distinguished  the  divinity 
students  of  the  Secession  when  he  first  joined  them. 
No  one  dared  at  that  time  to  allude,  but  in  the  most 
distant  way,  to  the  relative  temporal  advantages  of 
different  places  where  they  might  look  to  be  settled. 
Such  considerations,  it  was  thought,  were  of  too  base 
a  kind  to  endure  being  mentioned.  But  in  a  few 
years,  said  he,  great  was  the  change,  and  probationers 
might  be  heard  balancing  the  pecuniary  advantages 
of  different  calls  with  the  utmost  callousness. 

"I  trust  some  pains  have  been  taken  to  preserve 
your  father's  speeches,  or  parts  of  them.  His  cha- 
racter of  the  late  Dr.  Charles  Stuart,  deserves  pre- 
servation as  a  piece  of  portrait-painting  by  the  hand 
of  a  master.  As  an  orator,  your  father  held,  in  my 
opinion,  a  very  high  place.  Whenever  an  effort  was 
required,  he  was  great.  Witness  his  speech  at  the 
meeting  in  behalf  of  Greece,  and  his  speech  on  Irish 
Education  delivered  in  the  Assembly  Rooms,  The 
time  for  preparation  must  have  been  short,  but  his 
whole  soul  was  thrown  into  it.  I  had  a  curious  proof 
of  this,  once  that  I  called  on  the  day  preceding  the 
deliverance  of  one  of  his  public  speeches.  Not  being 
aware  of  his  being  engaged  in  preparation  for  this,  I 
expected  to  be  received  as  usual,  with  his  familiar 
welcome,  and  a  request  perhaps  to  make  him  a  pen 
— an  art  in  which  his  manuscripts  will  show  that  he 
was  himself  a  sorry  proficient.  To  my  no  small  sur- 
prise, he  gave  me  the  stare  of  a  man  who  had  never 
seen  me  in  his  life  before.  He  was  pacing  the  small 
dimensions  of  his  study  with  an  air  at  once  of  ab- 
straction and  excitement,  and  stopped,  point  blank, 
as  I  entered,  but  only  to  give  me  this  strange  recep- 


360  LIFE  OF  DR.  M^CRIE. 

tlon.  Soon,  however,  he  came  forth,  to  my  great 
regret,  from  'the  dome  of  thought — tlie  palace  of  the 
soul '  in  which  he  had  been  preparing  his  speech,  and 
gave  me  his  usual  hearty  welcome — explaining  what 
had  occupied  him.  He  took  the  interruption  with 
perfect  good  humour;  but,  indeed,  I  suppose  his  good 
nature  made  liini  accustomed  to  such  annoyances. 
To  say  that  his  eloquence  was  elaborate,  1  apprehend, 
is  not  in  the  least  diminisiiing  its  merits.  From  ample 
stores  he  selected  what  was  ever  best,  down  to  a  minute 
precision  of  phraseology.  And  yet  this  studious  atten- 
tion to  all  the  parts  of  his  addresses  was  far  from 
inconsistent  with  a  hardihood  at  times  that  one  would 
have  expected  rather  from  one  of  the  Irish  school. 
What  more  bold  than  the  apostrophe  in  which,  in 
the  Irish  Education  speech,  he  contrasted  public 
opinion  with  truth.  'Public  opinion — 'tis  like  the 
conceited  coxcomb  of  the  barn-yard,  which  struts 
along,  and  unfolds  its  tail,  and  looks  as  if  it  drew  all 
the  stars  of  heaven  after  it.  But  truth  is  like  hea- 
ven's own  bird,  cleaving  with  noiseless  wing  its  native 
element,  gazing  with  unwincing  eye  on  the  solar  ray, 
and  regardless  alike  of  the  admiration  of  the  specta- 
tors, and  of  the  hiss  and  cackle  of  the  inferior  fowls 
that  hail  his  departure!'  1  sat  among  the  benches 
below  with  the  well-known  Mr.  George  Howe  of 
Boston,  N.  E.,  by  my  side.  I  had  taken  him  to  the 
meeting,  thinking  he  might  be  interested,  but  he 
was  surprised  and  astonished — surprised  to  find  so 
many  ladies  interested  in  a  public  question,  which  he 
said  would  never  have  brought  them  to  any  such 
meeting  in  the  United  States — and  astonished  at 
your  father's  eloquence." 

To  these  memoranda,  penned  in  all  the  warmth  of 
the  youthful  admiration  in  which  the  writer  held  the 
subject  of  them,  it  would  be  easy  to  add  others  of  a 
similar  description.  It  might  have  been  mentioned, 
that  in  literature,  Dr.  M'Crie  was  a  great  admirer  of 
the  Latin  tongue.  He  gloried  in  the  beauty  of  Cal- 
vin's Latinity;  and  in  his  latter  days,  entered,  with 


HIS  PRIVATE  CHARACTER.  3G1 

all  the  zest  of  a  student  of  fifteen,  into  a  competition 
with  a  young  friend,  in  writing  a  translation  of  Cal- 
vin's celebrated  inscription  of  his  Institutes  to  Francis 
the  First — his  opponent  having  engaged  to  render  it 
into  old  Saxon  English,  and  he  himself  into  his  own 
style,  from  which,  by  the  way,  that  excess  of  latinity 
in  phraseology  and  rythm  complained  of  in  his  earlier 
works,  had  by  this  time  gradually  worked  itself  off.* 
A  favourite  book  of  frequent  perusal  with  him  was 
Justinian's  Institutes — a  mere  nothing  in  point  of 
bulk  to  the  Opera  Omnia  of  Cicero,  which  Calvin  is 
said  to  have  read  through  every  year, — but  remark- 
ably illustrative  of  his  mental  habits — perpetually 
reasoning  from,  testing  every  thing  by,  and  returning 
upon,  first  principles. 

Though  no  poet  himself,  and  never  known  to  have 
written  a  verse,  he  had  a  great  taste  for  poetry;  and 
had  read  much  more  of  it  than  may  be  supposed.  It 
might  surprise  some  to  learn  how  intimate  he  was 
with  some  of  the  early  French  dramatists;  whose 
works,  however,  he  seems  to  have  consulted  chiefly 
for  the  sake  of  the  sentiment,  when  in  search  of  illus- 

*  The  reader,  curious  in  such  matters,  may  observe  a  marked 
resemblance  between  the  style  of  Dr.  M'Crie,  in  his  early  writings 
particularly,  and  that  of  his  much  admired  professor,  Mr.  Bruce. 
He  had  a  style  of  his  own,  doubtless;  but  he  was  by  no  means 
tenacious  in  adhering  to  his  phraseology.  1  recollect  of  Dr. 
Thomson  meeting  him  on  the  street,  after  the  publication  of  the 
Life  of  Melville,  and  after  praising  the  work,  saying,  in  his 
peculiar  way,  "But,  man,  you  have  spoiled  one  of  your  finest 
sentences  by  an  odd-looking  word  which  I  never  saw  in  my  life 
before."  "  What  is  that.''"  "Death-stillness,"'  said  his  friend. 
'•  What  would  you  have  said  .''"  "  O,  '  death-like  stillness,'  or 
some  other  thing — but  deulh-stillncss!"  "  1  prefer  my  own  after 
all,''  said  my  father  to  me,  after  parting  with  the  Doctor;  but  in 
the  second  edition  it  is  altered  to  death-Like  (vol.  i.  p.  345.)  in 
its  original  form  the  passage  ran  thus:  "  He  is  perfectly  aware, 
that  where  all  things  are  subjected  to  the  arbitrary  will  of  an 
individual,  dissension  and  dissent  are  alike  precluded.  But  he 
knov;s  also  that  this  is  the  harmony  and  peace  which  is  to  be 
found  in  the  prison  and  the  grave;  and  he  would  prefer  the  dis- 
union and  even  uproar  by  which  a  deliberative  assembly  is  some- 
times shaken,  to  the  appalling  tranquillity  and  death-stillness 
which  reign  in  the  courts  of  despotism." — (Vol.  ii.,  p.  20,  Isted.) 

31 


382  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIK. 

trallons  for  some  favourite  moral  composition.  He 
admired  the  genius  of  Byron — regarding  him  as 
decidedly  the  most  original  of  our  modern  bards; 
but  lamenting  the  immorality  of  his  writings,  which 
he  dreaded  even  more  than  their  undisguised  infi- 
delity. 

It  would  occupy  too  much  time  to  state  his  views 
of  popular  theological  writers.  His  taste  appears  to 
have  altered  considerably  towards  the  close  of  his 
life.  Binning  he  admired  beyond  measure — placing 
him  above  even  Howe  and  Baxter,  in  regard  to  the 
clearness  of  his  views  of  the  Gospel  and  the  richness 
and  beauty  of  his  thoughts.  Howe  he  thought  too 
discursive  and  vague  a  writer  to  be  safe  for  young 
minds.  Of  Owen's  style  he  began  to  think  less, 
though  he  still  valued  him  as  a  theologian,  Leighton 
and  Flavel  were  especial  favourites,  and  he  would 
balance  their  merits  thus: — "Leighton  I  can  recom- 
mend to  readers  of  every  class — the  most  literate  and 
refined,  and  the  most  illiterate;  but  Flavel  I  can  better 
recommend  to  the  very  simple — he  is  so  homely." 
Charnock,  Bates,  and  Owen,  he  would  denominate 
'•the  Princes  of  the  Puritans."  Bishops  Hall  and 
Hopkins  stood  high  in  his  esteem,  particularly  the 
latter,  whom  he  would  earnestly  recommend  to  stu- 
dents of  divinity.  We  have  already  seen  the  high 
estimation  in  which  he  held  the  writings  of  Henry 
and  Baxter.  I  never  heard  him  recommend  those 
of  Jonathan  Edwards.  Practical  works  of  the  sim- 
plest order,  such  as  Boston's  Fourfold  State,  Matthew 
Henry's  Life  of  his  father,  Ebenezer  Erskine's  Ser- 
mons, &c.,  he  would  warmly  recommend  his  clerical 
friends  to  conjoin  with  systematic  reading.  The  Ser- 
mons of  Robert  Hall  he  admired  for  their  eloquence 
and  ingenuity;  those  of  Mr.  Bradley  of  Clapham  for 
their  elegant  simplicity. 

He  strongljf  inculcated  on  all  his  young  friends, 
diligent  and  conscientious  preparation  for  the  pulpit. 
'•  Fix  on  3^our  subject  early  in  the  week,"  he  would 
say,  "and  ruminate  on  it:  let  it  sleep  in  your  mind. 


HIS  PRIVATE  CHARACTER.  363 

and  though,  at  first,  few  ideas  may  present  themselves, 
it  will  gradually  swell  upon  you."  "If  you  borrow 
any  thoughts  from  others,"  he  would  add,  "take  care, 
hefore  giving  them  to  the  public  as  your  own,  to  make 
them  pass  through  your  own  mill."  He  had  no  pa- 
tience with  those  who,  under  the  pretext  or  fancy  of 
possessing  genius,  contemned  the  ordinary  aids  of 
study  and  eschewed  all  mental  labour.  Indeed,  he 
was  inclined  to  advocate  Buffon's  theory,  that  genius 
is  only  a  superior  power  of  mental  application; — 
always  supposing,  of  course,  the  existence  of  some 
substratum  of  intellect;  forsome  one  having  expressed 
his  wonder,  how  a  weak  brother,  who  was  very  in- 
dustrious in  his  preparations,  could  bring  forth  so 
little  fruit,  he  replied,  in  the  words  which  he  has  ap- 
plied to  James  VI.,  "  A  thin  soil,  sir." 

In  church  courts,  the  modesty  and  prudence  of  his 
character  were  very  remarkably  displayed.  He  uni- 
formly declined  taking  a  leading  part  in  the  discus- 
sions; in  every  point  not  involving  public  principle, 
he  yielded  to  his  brethren;  and  it  was  with  great 
difficulty  he  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  deliver  his 
judgment  in  cases  of  importance,  where  they  all  looked 
up  to  him  for  advice. 

In  the  discharge  of  his  pastoral  duties,  he  was  re- 
gular and  conscientious,  to  a  degree  which,  consider- 
ing the  multiplicity  of  his  other  avocations,  is  truly 
astonishing.  Endeared  to  every  member  of  his  flock, 
from  the  least  to  the  greatest,  by  the  patience,  the 
kindliness,  and  the  condescension,  with  which  he 
watched  over  them,  and  entered  into  all  that  con- 
cerned them  (instances  of  which  are  embalmed  in 
the  recollection  of  many  yet  alive,)  it  is  difficult  to 
say  whether  he  was  more  beloved  by  them  in  his 
private,  or  admired  by  them  in  his  public  character. 
Actuated  by  obvious  love  to  the  service  of  his  Divine 
Master,  he  might  have  truly  said  in  the  beautiful 
lines  of  Doddridge, 

<•'  Hast  thou  a  lamb,  in  all  thy  flock, 
1  would  disdain  to  feed? 


364  LIFE  OF  DR.  ivr'CRIE. 

Hast  thou  a  foe,  before  whose  face 
J  fear  thy  cause  to  plead?" 

In  the  domestic  circle,  the  beauty  of  his  character 
appeared  in  a  light,  if  possible,  still  more  engaging. 
I  shall  not  trust  myself  to  speak  of  the  manner  in 
which  he  discharged  every  relative  duty — of  the  in- 
dulgence, tempered  rather  than  restrained  by  pru- 
dence,— the  melting,  and  almost  motherly,  tenderness 
with  which  he  acted  the  part  of  a  father.     And  need 
I  say  that  his  domestic  virtues  were  hallowed  and 
commended,  by  a  life  of  consistent  and  unblotted 
piety?     His  religion,  like  himself,  was  simple,  unos- 
tentatious, unobtrusive.     He  seldom  introduced  de- 
votional topics  into  general  conversation;  but  while 
he  sometimes  regretted  his  diffidence  in  this  respect, 
he  was  ever  ready  to  administer  his  counsel  to  the 
heedless,  or  to  mingle,  upon  fitting  occasions,  in  con- 
fidential converse  on  divine  things.    In  the  pervading 
spirit  of  his  remarks  on  professing  Christians,  there 
was  a  striking  exhibition  of  the  grace  of  charity — 
that  touchstone  of  religious  sincerity — especially  in 
one  of  its  loveliest  features, — "  Charity  believeth  all 
things,  hopeth  all  things."     While  careful  not  to  ex- 
press himself  with  bold  assurance  as  to  the  blessed- 
ness of  departed  friends,  he  was  still  more  cautious  in 
uttering  his  doubts  and  fears  about  any.     He  seemed 
to  feel  here  as  if  treading  on  forbidden  ground,  and 
shrunk  from  drawing  aside  the  mysterious  veil,  which 
God,  in  sovereign  wisdom,  has  interposed  betwixt  us 
and  eternity.     He  delighted  in  cherishing  the  grace 
of  Hope;  and  it  was  singular  to  observe  the  ingenuity 
with  which,  in  the  exercise  of  this  amiable  principle, 
he  succeeded  in  chasing  the  gloom  of  grief  and  de- 
spondency from  the  breasts  of  others. 

I  feel  anxious,  however,  to  bring  these  Memoirs 
to  a  close,  and  shall  do  so  by  laying  before  my  read- 
ers an  extract  from  a  letter  written,  after  receiving 
the  intelligence  of  his  father's  death,  by  that  son, 
whose  own  untimely  removal  has  been  already  re- 
corded.    The  estimate  of  his  father's  character  which 


HIS  PRIVATE  CHARACTEK.  365 

it  contains,  may  be  better  received  than  any  that  I 
could  give, — as  coming  from  one  who  has  since  been 
laid  in  the  same  tomb  with  him  over  whom  he  poured 
forth  this  tribute  of  filial  grief  and  admiration. 

'«  Vienna,  9lh  September  1835. 

"My  dearest  Brothers, — I  used  to  think  and 
speak  of  my  two  fathers,  the  one  in  heaven,  and  the 
other  on  earth.  Thomas's  letter  has  informed  me  that 
both  are  now  in  heaven.  This  event,  so  unexpected 
by  me,  happened,  it  appears,  on  this  wise:  The  great 
God  loved  my  father  very  dearly — even  as  He  had 
loved  my  mother  also — and  it  seemed  to  Him  that  he 
had  laboured  and  toiled  enough  on  earth,  and  that  it 
was  high  time  he  should  retire  to  rest;  so  He  called 
unto  him  that  he  should  come  up  to  heaven  and  live 
for  ever  in  His  presence  and  labour  no  more.  And 
when  my  father  heard  the  voice,  he  knew  it  and 
was  content.  So  rising  up  quickly,  he  visited  the 
churches  in  his  religious  connexion — preaching  to 
them  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  exhorting  them  to 
continue  steadfast  in  the  faith.  Then  he  went  and 
abode  one  whole  week  with  my  sister,  who  had  been 
sick,  speaking  to  her  of  the  decease  he  was  about  to 
accomplish,  and  strengthening  her  for  what  might 
come  to  pass.  After  this,  he  returned  home  and 
preached  yet  again  to  the  lambs  whom  Jesus  had 
told  him  to  feed.  And  all  things  being  now  ready, 
he  sat  down  and  began  to  write  unto  7ne,  that  he 
might  give  me  a  bond  from  his  hand,  that  as  he 
loved  me  when  I  was  with  him,  so  he  loved  me 
unto  the  end.  But  God  knew  that  the  soul  of  this 
holy  man  was  grieved  beyond  measure  when  he 
said,  Farewell;  ere  therefore  he  had  yet  finished 
writing,  or  had  taken  leave  of  those  around  him, 
God  caused  a  deep  sleep  to  overshadow  him,  and 
when  the  sleep  had  cleared  away,  behold !  he  was 
not,  for  God  had  taken  him. 

"Now  there  is  nothing  painful,  my  dear  brothers, 
in  the  contemplation  of  this  gentle  death;  and  yet 
31* 


366  LIFE  OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

the  sad  tidings  fell  upon  me  heavily — more  heavily 
than  you  could  have  expected.  William's  kind  ex- 
pedient for  lessening  the  stroke,  hy  causing  it  to  de- 
scend gradually,  was  frustrated  by  the  lateness  of  my 
arrival  at  Vienna:  both  letters  came  to  hand  at  the 
same  time — at  a  moment,  too,  when  my  spirits  were 
more  than  usually  buoyant.  Fresh  from  a  month's 
pleasant  wandering  through  Tyrol — after  two  days' 
delightful  dropping  down  the  Danube  in  merry  com- 
pany— dressed  as  I  was  in  my  white  travelling  clothes, 
I  hastened  to  the  Post-Othce  through  the  gay  streets 
of  the  gayest  of  cities.  For  a  fortnight  past  my 
thoughts  had  spent  some  hours  every  day  at  Newing- 
ton,  and  hardly  a  night  had  gone  by  without  bring- 
ing my  father's  image  to  my  dreams.  I  began  to 
think  1  had  found  the  secret  of  living  at  home  in  a 
foreign  land.  From  the  bottom  of  my  heart  I 
thanked  the  man  who  handed  me  two  letters  from 
dear  Scotland,  and  hied  me  to  the  nearest  coffee-room 
to  feast  my  eyes,  as  I  fondly  imagined,  with  the  glad 
tidings  from  those  I  loved,  I  hastily  glanced  over 
the  first  page  of  what  my  father  had  written.  I 
could  perceive  that  Jessie  had  been  ill  and  was  reco- 
vering; but  the  paleness  of  the  ink  and  the  bad  light 
rendering  the  perusal  difficult,  I  turned  with  impa- 
tience to  Thomas'  more  legible  writing.  Suddenly 
a  dim  sense  of  some  great  calamity  swam  before  my 
dazzled  siglit;  I  was  eager  to  know  the  worst,  but  it 
was  some  time  ere  my  staggering  sight  could  disco- 
ver what  I  had  really  lost.  And  when  the  cruel 
truth  flashed  on  me — what  would  I  then  have  given 
for  solitude — for  deliverance  from  those  merry  sounds 
and  cheerful  faces  that  seemed  to  mock  my  affliction, 
while  they  forbade  its  utterance! 

"Oh!  my  father,  my  father!  is  it  then  true  that 
our  parting  at  Newington  was  so  very  serious?  that 
the  last  pressure  against  thy  manly  breast,  and  thy 
warm  lip,  was  never  to  be  repeated  on  this  side  the 
grave?  Are  all  the  hopes — the  inexpressible,  long- 
aursed  hopes — of  again  seeing  thee,  and  talking  with 


HIS  PRIVATE  CHARACTER.  367 

thee,  and  making  thee  happy,  are  they  all  nothing, 
nothing  now?  Thou  hast  shown  unto  me  the  strength 
of  a  father's  affection,  why  not  wait  till  I  had  shown 
thee  the  extent  of  a  son's  gratitude?  Why  hast 
thou  taken  thy  departure  now,  when  our  hearts  had 
begun  to  lean  against  each  other,  and  our  pursuits 
had  become  one  and  the  same.  JVoio,  when  I  had 
found  the  means  of  yet  winning  more  of  thy  love, 
and  fixing  more  exclusively  thy  regards?  I  had  things 
to  show  thee  altogether  new,  with  which  I  meant  to 
surprise  thee,  in  order  to  enjoy  the  rich  banquet  of 
thy  brightening  eye.  And  the  time  was  hard  by 
when  I  should  have  sat  by  thy  side,  and  let  thee  see 
how  much  I  knew,  and  felt  proud  of  thy  praise — and 
oh!  my  father!  I  would  have  made  all  so  easy  unto 
thee,  that  even  in  the  late  sunset  of  thy  days,  thou 
couklst  have  wrought  on  and  found  no  fatigue.  But 
thy  Master  findeth  that  thou  hast  laboured  enough, 
the  heat  of  summer  is  past — the  reaping  is  ended — 
now  is  the  resting-time  with  its  songs.  Far  up 
among  the  regions  of  the  blest  sparkles  the  intelli- 
gence of  thy  speaking  eye,  freed  from  the  dimness  of 
mortality,  and  powerful  after  the  deepness  of  thy 
latter  sleep;  calmly  radiates  the  light  from  thy  placid 
countenance,  while  loud  above  the  other  chorists  are 
heard  at  intervals  the  tones  of  thy  happy  voice, 
mellower  now  than  formerly,  when  it  loved  to  lead 
our  morning  and  evening  psalm.  And  all  near  thee 
on  that  hallowed  spot  stands  one  other  saintly  being, 
in  fair  radiance,  meek  and  mild,  humble  but  very 
holy,  who  has  already  learned  all  the  songs  of  heaven, 
and  can  sing  them  sweetly,  near  whom  thou  delight- 
est  to  linger,  as  in  the  presence  of  one  once  much 
loved  and  much  loving. 

"Bear  with  me,  my  dear  brothers,  while  I  briefl}'- 
sketch  what,  at  this  moment,  is  present  to  m.y  mind, 
of  our  dear  departed  parent.  This  portrait  is  not 
difficult  to  draw,  for  simplicity  constituted  at  once 
the  beauty  and  the  strength  of  his  character.  Stern, 
uncompromising  principle — a  rare  acuteness  and  per- 


368  LIFE   OF   DR.   M'CRIE. 

spicacity  of  intellect — and  a  patient  aptitude  to  la- 
bour, these  are  the  three  qualities  from  which  sprang 
the  uniform  uprightness  of  his  public  life,  the  wisdom 
and  moral  elevation  of  his  pulpit  discourses,  the  pro- 
found research,  and  accurate  discrimination  of  his 
historical  works.  Those  who  had  an  opportunity  of 
observing  him  more  closely,  could  likewise  discover 
in  him  a  capacity  for  distant  calculation,  and  a  facili- 
ty in  unravelling  the  intricacies  of  a  complicated  case, 
which  would  have  led  him  to  eminence  on  the  arena  of 
political  debate,  or  judicial  investigation,  but  which 
were  rarely  brought  into  play  during  the  quiet  flow 
of  his  clerical  career.  His  religious  views  received 
a  colouring  from  his  acquaintance  with  the  ecclesias- 
tical history  of  his  country.  Having  discerned  in 
the  original  constitution  and  discipline  of  the  Kirk 
of  Scotland — such  as  she  is  depicted  in  her  ancient 
annals,  and  regulated  by  her  own  statute-books — the 
nearest  approach  to  apostolic  simplicity  and  purity, 
as  well  as  the  most  successful  attempt  to  secure  the 
advantages  of  a  national  religious  establishment,  with- 
out sacrificing  the  inherent  independence  of  the 
Church — he  stood  forth  a  worthy  representative  of 
the  Scottish  Covenanters,  impressed  with  an  exalted 
idea  of  the  religious  attainments  of  his  forefathers, 
and  earnestly  contending  for  a  return  to  their  prin- 
ciples and  institutions.  With  the  view  of  recalling 
his  native  land  to  this  ancient  state  of  things,  he  at- 
tached himself,  in  his  youth,  to  a  small  undistin- 
guished body  of  Dissenters,  who  had  the  same  ob- 
ject with  himself  at  heart,  and  continued  till  death 
one  of  its  unpretending  but  zealous  members — un- 
dazzled  by  the  rising  celebrity  of  his  name,  unmoved 
by  the  defection  of  friends  to  a  more  popular  cause, 
and  unallured  by  the  many  avenues  to  worldly  ho- 
nour and  emolument  which  were  opened  up  to  him. 
The  greater  part  of  his  literary  labours  must  be 
viewed  in  connexion  with  the  main  object  of  his 
life.  As  an  historian,  he  ranks  among  those  who 
have  devoted  their  strength  and  time  to  the  elucida- 


HIS  PRIVATE  CHARACTER.  369 

tion  of  such  periods  of  the  past  as  had  hitherto  been 
unexplored.  His  subjects,  therefore,  are  perfectly 
new,  and  tend  to  fill  up  important  blanks  in  ecclesi- 
astical history,  which,  but  for  his  indefatigable  indus- 
try, might  long  have  remained  unsupplied.  To  him 
the  Church  of  Scotland  is  indebted  for  portraits  of 
two  of  her  most  interesting  men,  and  for  a  sketch  of 
the  most  eventful  period  that  has  chequered  her  ex- 
istence. His  histories  of  the  Reformation  in  Italy 
and  Spain  furnish  the  only  knowledge  which  the  En- 
glish public  possess  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  Pro- 
testantism in  those  countries.  Simple  and  moderate 
in  their  style,  his  writings  command  attention  by  the 
originality  and  importance  of  the  matter  the}'  con- 
tain— by  their  nice  appreciation  of  character  and 
events — and  by  the  high  tone  of  religious  and  moral 
feeling  that  pervades  them.  Most  of  them  hav© 
been  translated  into  the  languasjesof  France  and  Ger- 
many,  wnere  his  merits  as  an  ecclesiastical  historian 
have  long  been  appreciated.  His  sermons  were  in 
general  the  affectionate  and  homely  addicsses  of  a 
revered  pastor  to  his  loving  flock;  occasionally  they 
assumed  a  loftier  character,  and  vied,  in  unction  and 
pathos,  with  the  best  effusions  of  the  old  divines. 
In  leclur'tng  on  an  extended  portion  of  Scripture,  he 
rose  far  above  most  of  his  contemporary  fellow-la- 
bourers; for  his  powers  of  historical  representation 
were  brought  into  action,  and  he  was  able,  with  won- 
derful wisdom  and  sagacity,  with  matured  experi- 
ence and  an  extended  knowledge  of  human  nature, 
to  make  the  incidents  of  sacred  history  bear  on  the 
every-day  events  of  the  Christian's  life.  It  was  sel- 
dom that  he  could  be  prevailed  on  to  take  part  in 
the  public  meetings  of  his  fellow-citizens;  but  cir- 
cumstances did  now  and  then  occur,  powerful  enough 
to  draw  him  from  his  solitude.  Then  it  was  that  his 
resources,  rising  with  the  greatness  of  the  occasion, 
brought  to  light  powers  of  mind  and  depth  of  feeling 
nearly  allied  to  tlie  highest  eloquence.  In  the  bosom 
of  his  congregation,  he  was  cherished  with  that  re- 


370  LIFE   OF  DR.  M'CRIE. 

verential  love  and  fond  gratitude  which  was  the  con- 
sequence and  the  reward  of  the  paternal  solicitude 
that  watched  over  their  spiritual  progress,  and  of  the 
firm  gentleness  that  led  them  and  fed  them  in  this 
wilderness  below.  The  open  guilelessness  of  his 
manner,  and  the  total  absence  of  selfishness  in  all  his 
actions,  produced  a  mutual  confidence  and  harmony, 
that  flowed  on  without  interruption  during  the  whole 
long  period  of  his  ministrations.  The  first  part  of 
his  public  life  was  divided  between  his  clerical  duties 
and  the  intense  study  of  the  closet.  In  after  years 
he  abated  the  severity  of  the  latter,  and  began  to 
taste  more  freely  the  sweets  of  domestic  endearment 
and  social  intercourse.  It  was  in  the  hours  of  relaxa- 
tion from  labour  that  his  friends  discerned  in  him  an 
afiability  and  playful  condescension,  so  uncommonly 
lively  and  winning,  that  the  present  afflictive  stroke, 
in  removing  him  from  their  circle,  has  laid  their 
wounded  hearts  open  to  a  thousand  touching  recol- 
lections which  must  dart  upon  them  occasionally  in 
after  life.  The  native  simplicity  of  his  mind  lent  an 
ease  and  self-possession  to  his  exterior  which  enabled 
him  to  move  in  the  society  of  the  great  and  polished 
without  embarrassment — to  mingle  with  the  poor 
and  uneducated,  as  if  he  had  never  known  any  thing 
higher  or  more  refined.  His  delicacy  in  asking  fa- 
vours for  himself  or  his  family  amounted  to  disease. 
He  was  one  of  the  few  popular  authors  of  the  day, 
who  refused  to  enrich  themselves  by  lending  their 
names  and  their  pens  to  the  profitable  speculations 
of  scheming  bookmakers.  The  equality  of  his  dis- 
position was  great:  praise  did  not  seem  to  elate  him, 
nor  blame  greatly  to  depress  him.  He  was  not  sub- 
ject to  the  weakness  of  anger.  I  have  seen  him  hurt, 
grieved — never  angry.  He  was  never  known  to  have 
hated;  and  therefore,  though  he  had  detractors,  he 
died  without  having  had  an  enemy." 


APPENDIX. 


No.  I. 
PETITION  TO  THE  GENERAL  SYNOD,— April  1800. 

[Page  G8.] 

Unto  the  Reverend  Moderator  and  Remanent  Members  of  the 
General  Associate  Synod,  to  meet  at  Edinburgh,  22d  April 
IbOO,  the  Representation  and  Petition  of  the  Subscriber; 

Humhly  showeth, — That  it  is  with  extreme  reluctance  he  comes 
forward  to  trouble  the  Synod  at  this  time.  He  is  very  sensible 
of  the  difficulties  which  the  Synod  labour  under,  and  the  multi- 
plicity of  affairs  which  may  engage  their  attention,  and  he  would 
be  very  far  from  wishing  to  do  any  thing  that  might  embarrass 
their  proceedings,  or  involve  them  in  greater  confusion.  It  is 
after  deliberate  consideration,  and  under  a  conviction  that  the 
step  he  now  takes  is  of  importance,  that  he  ventures  to  represent 
to  the  court  certain  things  respecting  the  present  state  of  the 
Testimony  maintained  by  them,  which  are  grieving  to  him. 

In  May  1790,  the  Synod  passed  an  Act  respecting  the  doctrine 
of  the  Confession  of  Faith,  chap,  xxiii.,  sect.  3,  and  chnp.  xx., 
sect.  4,  and  altered  the  Formula  in  agreeableness  to  this  Act,  to 
obviate  the  scruples  which  young  men  at  license,  preachers,  and 
elders  at  ordination,  and  private  persons  at  their  accession  and 
baptism  of  their  children,  have  offered  to  the  courts.  Tlie  sub- 
scriber of  this  petition  was  one  of  those  who  entertained  scruples 
upon  this  head,  which  were  referred  to  the  Synod  by  the  Presby- 
tery of  Edinburgh,  and  the  above  mentioned  Act  so  far  satisfied 
his  mind  that  he  had  freedom  to  take  the  formula  as  altered. 
Since  that  time,  however,  he  has  had  opportunity  of  considering 
the  Act  more  deliberately,  of  comparing  it  with  the  Confession  of 
Faith,  and  of  weighing  more  carefully  the  influence  which  the 
change  introduced  is  calculated  to  have  upon  the  whole  of  our 
principles:  the  consequence  has  been,  that  he  has  seen  occasion 
to  alter  his  sentiments  which  he  formerly  entertained  respecting 
it,  and  to  repent  of  the  steps  which  he  took. 

Some  may  think,  that  in  consideration  of  this  scruple  formerly 
entertained  by  the  subscriber,  and  the  occasion  given  by  him  to 
the  change  in  the  deed,  he  ought  to  have  remained  silent.  In 
this  manner  he  himself  has  hitherto  thought  and  acted,  and 


372  APPENDIX. 

willingly  would  he  still  have  continued  to  do  so,  could  he  have 
reconciled  such  conduct  with  conscience  and  duty.  This,  how- 
ever, he  can  no  longer  do,  especially  as  the  Act  referred  to  is 
closely  connected  with  deeds  which  the  Synod  have  since  passed, 
and  may  yet  pass.  If  he  has  been  instrumental,  even  in  an  indi- 
lect  way,  in  bringing  about  a  change  which  he  looks  upon  as 
prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the  religious  body  with  whom  he  is 
connected,  and  the  cause  of  truth  among  them,  it  is  his  duty  to 
endeavour,  as  far  as  in  his  power,  to  repair  the  injury.  Besides, 
he  was  previously,  and  still  is,  under  solemn  obligations  which 
it  is  his  duty  to  perform,  and  from  which  no  act  of  his  own,  or 
others,  can  release  him.  He  hopes,  therefore,  that  his  Reverend 
Fathers  and  Brethren  will  candidly  interpret  his  conduct,  and 
patiently  listen  to  his  difficulties. 

By  any  opposition  he  may  make  to  this  Act,  he  would  not  be 
understood  as  standing  in  the  way  of  a  declaration  against  re- 
ligious persecution.  Our  fathers  in  the  Secession  have  done  this 
long  ago;  and  he  thinks  that  the  Synod  had  a  call  to  explain 
themselves  upon  this  head,  considering  the  misrepresentation  of 
their  principles  which  had  become  so  general.  But  tiiis  rendered 
it  the  more  necessary,  that  what  they  said  upon  this  subject  should 
be  cautious,  and  that  they  should  give  no  countenance  to  those 
bold  calumnies  which  had  been  thrown  out,  but  never  proved, 
against  our  principles. 

The  following  are  the  reasons  on  account  of  which  the  sub- 
Ecriber  thinks  the  Act  objectionable  : — • 

1.  The  Confession  of  Faith  is  condemned  by  it  without  any 
inquiry  into  the  clauses  objected  against  being  instituted,  and 
even  without  condescending  upon  these  clauses.  Great  delibe- 
ration is  necessary  in  rejecting  or  altering  any  part  of  principles 
received,  and  it  should  never  be  taken  for  granted  that  they  are 
wrong.  But  this  Act  seems  to  have  proceeded  too  much  upon  an 
opinion  generally  entertained  among  the  members  of  Synod,  but 
judicially  taken  for  granted,  while  the  clauses  were  not  produced, 
examined  and  reasoned  upon.  Such  procedure  miglit  have  been 
unobjectionable,  had  the  Act  been  wholly  explanatory,  and  in- 
tended to  remove  false  charges  or  misconstructions,  or  to  explain 
what  our  former  principles  really  were;  but  it  is  evident  that  the 
Act  is  partly  condemnatory.  In  this  case  the  subscriber  is 
humbly  of  opinion,  that  no  prejudice,  however  general,  against 
the  foresaid  doctrine;  no  new  opinion,  however  gradually  intro- 
duced, or  widely  spread;  no  scruple  entertained  or  expressed, 
either  by  ministers  or  people,  were  sufficient  to  warrant  such  a 
condemnation;  thougii  it  might  have  been  highly  proper  to  take 
these  into  consideration,  to  have  compared  them  with  the  Con- 
fession of  Faith,  and  both  with  the  Scriptures,  and  to  have  de- 
termined accordingly. 

2.  Although  the  Act  professes  in  the  preamble,  that  the  Synod 
cannot  at  present  enter  on  a  particular  consideration  of  the  over- 
ture respecting  the  power  of  the  civil  magistrate  in  matters  of 
religion,  and  this  gives  reason  to  expect  that  no  decision  was 
given  on  the  subject  in  controversy,  yet  it  does  materially  decide 
upon  it;  at  least  it  is  so  understood  and  explained  by  many;  and 
thus,  without  due  examination,  introduces  the  now  principle  pro- 


PETITION  TO  THE  SYxNOD  IN  1800.  373 

posed  in  the  overture  of  a  Testimony  which  is  lying  before  the 
iSynod.  The  meaning  which  many  put  upon  the  act  is,  that  the 
allowing  of  any  power  to  the  magistrate  about  religious  matters 
is  an  "  investing  of  civil  rulers  with  a  lordship  over  the  con- 
sciences, of  men,  and  inconsistent  with  the  spirituality,  freedom 
and  independence  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ."  If  this  be  its  mean- 
ing, then  the  Synod  have  suddenly  adopted  a  principle  never 
betbre  received  in  any  Protestant  Church,  nor  by  the  Church  in 
any  age  so  far  as  the  subscriber  has  hitherto  seen,  and  which  in 
his  opinion  would  go  a  great  way  to  condemn  the  manner  in 
which  the  Reformation  was  carried  on  in  most  countries,  and 
particularly  in  our  own,  and  which  would  lead  us  to  follow  a 
divisive  course  from  the  Reformed  and  Covenanted  Church  of 
Scotland. 

At  any  rate,  the  general  and  indeterminate  declarations  of  the 
Act  are  very  liable  to  be  misconstrued,  and  therefore  stand  in 
need  of  a  review. 

3.  The  manner  in  which  the  Confession  of  Faith  itself,  and  the 
declaration  and  defence  of  the  Associate  Presbytery's  principles 
respecting  the  present  civil  government,  are  brought  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  doctrine  objected  unto,  seems  calculated  to  render  the 
Act  more  obscure,  and  to  injure  these  parts  of  our  principles. 
The  Confession  is  introduced,  declaring  that  "  God  alone  is  Lord 
of  the  conscience,  and  hath  left  it  free  from  the  doctrines  and 
commandments  of  men  which  are  in  any  thing  contrary  to  his 
Word,  or  beside  it,  in  matters  of  faith  or  worship;  so  that  to  be- 
lieve such  doctrine  or  obey  such  commandments,  out  of  con- 
science, is  to  betray  true  liberty  of  conscience,  and  reason  also." 
These  words  contain  a  most  certain  and  important  truth,  but  the 
subscriber  cannot  perceive  their  applicableness  to  the  subject  of 
the  Act.  They  are  directed  against  the  opinion  of  the  Papists 
and  others,  who  maintained  that  implicit  obedience  was  due  to 
the  decisions  of  rulers  ecclesiastical  and  civil.  This  is  evident 
from  these  words  in  the  same  sentence,  which  are  explanatory  of 
the  scope  of  the  section,  but  which  are  left  out  in  the  Act, — 
"  And  the  requiring  of  an  implicit  faith  and  an  ahsolute  and  blind 
obedience,  is  to  destroy  liberty  of  conscience."  The  quotation,  in 
the  disjoined  state  in  which  it  appears,  and  in  the  sense  in  which 
it  seems  to  be  taken  in  the  Act,  bears  equally  against  ecclesiasti- 
cal as  civil  rulers,  and  it  would  make  the  power  of  the  one,  as 
well  as  that  of  the  other,  a  lordship  over  the  conscience.  But 
the  Confession  of  Faith,  after  having  declared  as  above  in  favour 
of  "true  liberty  of  conscience"  in  opposition  to  an  absolute  and 
blind  obedience,"  adds  a  little  after  in  the  same  chapter, — '■  And 
because  the  powers  which  God  hath  ordained  and  the  liberty 
which  Christ  hath  purchased,  are  not  intended  by  God  to  destroy, 
but  mutually  to  uphold  and  preserve  one  another,  they  who  upon 
pretence  of  Christian  liberty,  shall  oppose  any  lawful  power,  or 
tlie  lawful  exercise  of  it,  whether  it  be  civil  or  ecclesiastical,  re- 
sist the  ordinance  of  God.  The  question,  then,  comes  to  this. 
Has  the  Confession  assigned  an  unlawful  power  or  the  unlawful 
exercise  of  it  to  the  magistrate,  in  opposition  to  its  preceding 
declaration  respecting  liberty  of  conscience?  and  in  what  instance 
has  it  done  so? 
32 


374  APPENDIX. 

As  to  the  passage  quoted  from  the  Declaration  and  Defence, 
&c.,  at  first  view  it  may  seem  favourable  to  the  opinion,  that  the 
magistrate  has  no  power  about  religious  matters ;  but  when  we 
consider  that  this  interpretation  is  in  di-reet  opposition  to  the  ex- 
press declaration  of  the  compilers  of  that  ptJiper,  who  in  the  verj' 
same  paragraph  assert  that  "  there  is  nothing  especially  allotted 
and  allowed  unto- magistrates  by  the  Word  of  God  and  the  Con- 
fessions of  the  Reformed  Churches,"  this  must  show  us  that  they 
never  meant  to  convey  such  a  sentiment;  and  upon  a' more  par- 
ticular examination  it  will  be  found  that  they  do  not  contain  this 
doctrine. 

4.  The  Act  was  intended  to  be  temporary,  according  to  the  in- 
timation in  the  preamble,  and  therefore  ought  not  to  be  continued 
as  a  standing  rule.  It  has  not  been  found  sufficient  for  removing 
scruples,  for  in  September  1791),  the  exception  to  the  Confession 
was  extended  to  "every  thing  in  the  Catechisms,  or  any  of  our 
public  papers  which,  when  taken  by  itself,  seems  to  contain  the 
doctrine  objected  against."  In  the  mean  time,  members  of  Synod 
having  their  consciences  aggrieved  by  the  change  in  our  public 
profession,  are  prevented  from  co-operating  with  their  brethren 
in  many  important  parts  of  public  work,  and  thus  a  schism  is 
made  in  the  body. 

On  these  and  other  accounts  the  subscriber  humbly  craves  that 
the  Synod  would  review  this  their  Act,  examine  the  passages  in 
the  Confession,  (Sec,  which  are  supposed  to  be  objectionable,  and 
give  such  a  determination  as  shall  tend  most  to  the  maintenance 
of  truth,  and  the  preservation  of  the  unity  of  the  body. — And  that 
the  presence  of  the  Head  of  the  Church  may  direct  the  Synod  in 
this  and  all  other  matters,  is  the  earnest  prayer  of 

Tiio.  M'CniE. 

[Owing  to  the  unexpected  size  to  which  the  volume  has  ex- 
tended, it  is  not  considered  necessary  to  insert  the  Speech  men- 
tioned at  p  G9;  especially  as,  besides  what  is  given  in  the  text, 
it  contains  little  more  than  what  is  to  be  found  in  the  above 
Petition.] 


No.  II. 

ADDRESS  DELIVERED  TO  THE  CONGREGATION,— 

June  1806. 

[Page  119.] 

It  is  a  proverbial  saying,  that  it  is  a  disgrace  to  a  teacher  vvhen 
his  own  doctrine  reproves  him;  and  all  those  who  are  employed 
in  teaching  others,  should  be  careful  tliat  their  conduct  be  in 
some  due  measure  consistent  with  what  they  inculcate  upon  their 
Jiearers;  as  without  this  they  cannot  expect  that  it  will  produce 
good  effects  upon  their  minds.  Upon  the  same  grounds  it  is  the 
duty  of  such  persons  to  give  necessary  explications  as  to  any  part 
of  their  conduct  which,  through  ignorance  and  misapprehension, 
may  have  excited  prejudices  against  them,  and  to  wipe  off  mis- 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  CONGREGATION  —  ISOG.         375 

representations  which  are  injurious  to  their  character,  and  may 
lend  to  mar  the  usefulness  of  their  ministry.  For  such  a  step 
there  are  the  best  warrants  in  the  word  of  God. 

You  will  not  therefore  think  it  strange  that  I  request  your  can- 
did attention  for  a  htlle,  while  1  ex))lain  to  you  some  parts  of  my 
conduct  with  reference  to  the  proceedings  of  the  General  Synod, 
which  have  excited  a  considerable  anxiety  and  been  blamed  by 
many.  I  doubt  not  that  some  have  expected  something  of  this 
kind  at  an  earlier  period,  but  although  I  was  not  insensible  that 
very  gross  mistakes  were  entertained  respecting  my  conduct  in 
tljat  affair,  and  that  I  was  viewed  by  many  as  fostering  division 
and  exciting  disturbance,  yet  1  was  averse  to  introduce  the  sub- 
ject, and  endeavoured  to  console  myself  with  the  testimony  of 
my  own  conscience,  and  with  the  reflection,  that  persons  more 
faithful  than  I  could  pretend  to  be  had  met  with  treatment  of  a 
similar  kind.  The  time  is,  however,  now  come  when  silence 
would  be  sinful,  and  can  no  longer  be  kept.  I  do  not  mean, 
however,  at  present  to  enter  upon  a  vindication  of  my  principles 
upon  the  subjects  of  dispute,  but  shall  only  give  you  a  statement 
of  them,  and  of  the  reasons  which  have  induced  me,  or  rather 
impelled  me,  to  take  the  steps  I  have  taken.  In  doing  this,  I 
shall  endeavour  to  speak  with  all  due  respect  of  the  Synod,  but 
at  the  same  time  with  a  freedom  which  becomes  one  who  is  con- 
scious of  having  acted  sincerely,  and  of  the  justice  of  the  cause 
which  he  has  espoused,  which  he  cannot  allow  to  depend  upon 
any  man,  or  number  of  men,  however  good  or  wise. 

The  first  thing  requisite  in  any  controversy,  is  to  know  the 
matter  in  dispute.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  persons,  upon 
hearing  that  a  person  has  taken  any  particular  step,  immediately 
to  pass  judgment  upon  it,  without  waiting  to  hear  the  grounds  and 
reasons  upon  which  he  proceeded ;  nothing,  however,  can  be  more 
unreasonable  and  unjust.  Even  a  measure  which,  on  a  general 
view,  appears  to  be  harsh  and  strong,  may,  on  a  due  consideration 
of  the  grounds,  turn  out  to  be  not  only  justifiable,  but  laudable 
and  necessary. 

In  our  contcndings  with  the  Synod,  I  and  the  brethren  with 
whom  I  have  acted,  have  had  it  for  our  great  and  only  object  to 
maintain  the  principles  received  and  hitherto  avouched  by  the 
body.  It  has  not  been  an  opposition  to  mere  modes  of  expres- 
sion, it  has  not  been  an  opposition  to  a  new  statement  of  the 
original  principles,  or  an  accommodation  thereof  to  the  presept 
situation  of  the  Church, — a  work  which  we  would  be  disposed  to 
co-operate  in  as  heartily  as  any;  but  we  have  opposed  because  w& 
judge  that,  in  the  new  exhibition  of  the  profession  of  the  Synod, 
there  is  a  material  departure  from  the  former  ground,  which  was 
settled  agreeably  to  Scripture,  and  that  doctrines  are  introduced 
or  built  upon,  which  are  inconsistent  with  the  Word  of  God  and 
our  former  principles.  If  it  cannot  be  shown  that  there  is  a  real 
and  palpable  inconsistency  between  the  old  and  new  testimony 
and  profession  of  Seceders  in  some  important  points,  I,  for  one, 
will  drop  the  controversy,  and  grant  tliat  the  opposition  I  have 
made  has  been  unreasonal)le  and  sinful. 

The  only  method  of  determining  this  is  by  appealing  to  facts-, 
and  without  indulging  in  general  declamation  and  strong  asser^ 


376  APPENDIX. 

tions  which  may  confound  and  mislead,  but  cannot  convince  a 
mind  that  seriously  wishes  satisfaction,  I  shall  proceed  to  men- 
tion a  few  things  that  are  necessary  to  a  proper  understanding  of 
this  affair.  There  is  one  thing  that  is  necessary  to  be  carried 
along  in  the  whole  of  this  question;  it  is,  that  the  Secession  Tes- 
timony was  not  only  a  testimony  in  behalf  of  the  truths  of  God's 
Word,  but  of  the  reformation  attained  in  this  land,  or,  in  other 
words,  a  testimony  for  the  great  work  of  God  in  bringing  about 
a  public  reformation  of  religion  in  this  kingdom.  JNow,  when 
we  speak  of  such  a  reformation,  we  not  only  mean  a  certain  set 
of  principles  respecting  religion  and  church  order,  as  they  may 
be  laid  down  in  certain  standard  books,  but  we  must  include  also 
certain  actings  of  a  body  of  people  in  the  way  of  removing  evils 
and  corruptions,  and  introducing  what  is  lawful,  good  and  scrip- 
tural, in  tlieir  room.  Accordingly  in  the  original  Testimony, 
witness  is  borne  expressly  to  various  laudable  acts  in  promoting 
and  advancing  religion,  all  of  which  were  considered,  not  merely 
as  actings  of  men,  but  as  the  work  of  God,  and  as  constituting 
the  reformation  attained — or  the  Covenanted  Reformation. 

In  the  testimony  originally  borne  to  this  work  of  God,  there 
were  two  leading  heads  under  which  the  particulars  were  ar- 
ranged. The  first  of  these  was  the  actings  of  the  Church  and  its 
judicatories  in  promoting  the  Reformation  of  religion;  the  second 
was  the  actings  of  the  nation,  with  its  political  rulers.  The  re- 
formation of  religion  is  there  considered  as  a  great  national  con- 
cern and  duty,  in  the  advancement  of  which  both  the  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  rulers,  each  in  their  own  sphere,  together  with  the 
body  of  the  people,  were  properly  and  laudably  employed.  Se- 
ceders  did  formerly  bear  witness,  not  only  in  behalf  of  the  laws 
and  actings  of  the  ecclesiastical  judicatories,  but  also  in  behalf  of 
the  actings  of  the  civil  powers  on  the  same  side,  and  of  the  laws 
which  they  made  ratifying  and  establishing  the  true  Protestant 
and  Presbyterian  religion.  For  example,  they  bear  record,  as 
one  of  the  first  instances  of  the  "  great  work"  which  the  hand  of 
the  "  Lord"  did  "effectuate,"  that  "  the  first  Confession  of  Faith 
was  ratified  and  approven  by  the  Parliament"  (Display  i.,  55;) 
not  only  that  the  "  Book  of  Discipline  was  approven  by  the  Gene- 
ral Assembl}',  but  that  all  the  pieces  of  the  Reformation  then  at- 
tained unto,  were  ratified  and  approven  by  the  Parliament  1592." 
(P.  56.)  As  to  the  second  Reformation,  the  original  Testimony 
bears  witness,  that  "  During  this  period,  the  estates  of  the  nation 
(or  the  Parliament)  also  gave  their  helping  hand  to  the  work  of 
reformation,  not  only  by  the  legal  establishment  given  unto  it  in 
1640,  but  also  by  approving  the  Solemn  League,  and  by  manj' 
luudable  Acts  passed  anno  1649;"  and  after  enumerating  several 
of  these,  it  adds,  "The  above  particulars  are  some  instances 
of  the  power  and  goodness  of  the  Most  High  God,  which  this 
Presbytery  judge  it  their  duty  to  record  and  bear  witness  unto." 
(Pp.  61 ,  62.)  A  still  more  express  testimony  is  borne  unto  these 
proceedings  in  the  Declaration  of  the  Associate  Presbytery's 
principles  respecting  civil  government,  or  Answers  to  Nairne. 
They  there  divide  the  Covenanted  Reformation  into  two  parts, 
which  they  call  the  "civil  reformation"  and  the  "  ecclesiastical 
reformation."     (Display  i.,  278.)     The  former  comprehends,  not 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  CONGREGATION 1806.       377 

only  the  valuable  liberties  of  the  nation,  but  also  the  legal  secu- 
rities and  ratifications  given  to  the  profession  of  the  true  religion. 
They  particularly  bear  witness  to  the  settlement  of  the  deed  of 
civil  constitution  upon  a  reformed  footing  in  tlie  years  15S)2  and 
1649.  They  declare  that  the  professed  defence  and  maintenance 
of  the  true  religion,  &c.,  was  secured  by  the  fundamental  con- 
stitution of  the  civil  governments  in  our  reforming  periods>which 
deed,  &c.,  is  morally  unalterable,  &c.  (P.  274  )  In  short,  it  is 
beyond  a  doubt,  that  in  all  the  original  papers  in  the  Secession, 
where  the  covenanted  reformation  is  spoken  of  and  testified  for, 
the  civil  settlement  and  laws  in  its  favour,  as  well  as  the  eccle- 
siastical, are  included  and  approved;  and  when  departures  from 
it  are  condemned,  the  proceedings  and  laws  of  the  State,  as  well 
as  of  the  Church,  are  condemned. 

Let  us  inquire  now  how  tlie  matter  stands  in  the  profession 
which  the  Synod  have  now  adopted.  A  principle  is  introduced 
and  avowed  which  excludes  a  nation  and  its  civil  rukrs  from  in- 
terfering with  religion.  The  New  Testimony  expressly  asserts 
that  the  power  competent  to  worldly  kingdoms  is  to  be  viewed  as 
"respecting  only  the  secular  interests  of  society''  (New  Testi- 
mony, p.  193.)  the  secular  interests  of  society  only,  in  distinction 
from  their  religious  interests.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  this  principle 
not  only  tends  to  exclude  nations  and  their  rulers  from  all  iuter- 
ference  with  religion,  from  employing  their  power  for  prowoting 
a  religious  reformation  and  advancing  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  but 
also  virtually  condemns  what  the  rulers  of  this  land  did  in  former 
times  of  reformation,  which  the  original  Testimony  did  bear 
witness  to  as  a  work  of  God.  Accordingly,  this  reformation  is 
viewed  all  along  through  the  new  papers  as  a  mere  ecclesiastical 
reformation;  and  the  laws  made  by  a  reforming  Parliament,  &c., 
in  as  far  as  they  recognised,  ratified,  and  established  the  reformed 
religion,  are  either  omitted,  glossed  over  or  explained  away.  In 
the  account  of  the  First  Reformation,  the  abolition  of  the  laws  in 
favour  of  Popery  is  mentioned,  but  a  total  and  designed  silence 
is  observed  respecting  all  the  laws  made  in  favour  of  the  Protes- 
tant Confession  and  Discipline,  by  which  the  nation,  in  its  most 
public  capacity,  stated  itself  on  the  side  of  Christ's  cause,  and 
even  the  famous  deed  of  civil  constitution,  settled  on  a  reformed 
footing  in  1592,  is  buried  and  forgotten.  The  same  thing  is  ob- 
servable in  the  account  of  the  Second  Reformation.  On  one 
occasion  it  is  said  that  the  king  "gave  his  consent  to  such  acts 
as  were  thought  necessary,  for  securing  the  civil  and  religious 
rigiits  of  the  nation;"  without  saying  whether  tiiis  were  right  or 
wrong.  But  all  the  other  laws  of  the  reforming  Parliaments 
during  that  period,  which  were  specified  and  approved  in  the 
former  papers  of  the  Secession,  and  even  the  settlement  of  the 
civil  constitution  in  1649,  which  has  formerly  been  considered  as 
the  crowning  part  of  Scotland's  Reformation  and  liberties,  is 
passed  over  without  mention  or  testimony.  Even  that  wicked 
act  of  the  Scottish  Parliament  after  the  Restoration  of  Charles 
II.,  by  which  all  the  laws  establishing  and  ratifying  the  Presby- 
terian religion  and  covenants  were  rescinded,  is  passed  over  in 
its  proper  place  in  the  acknowledgment  of  sins,  and  when  it  is 
mentioned,  is  condemned  with  a  reserve;  nor  was  this  done  ijiad- 

32* 


378  APrENDix. 

vertently,  for  if  the  Presbyterian  religion  ought  not  to  have  been 
established  by  law,  it  is  not  easy  to  condemn  a  Parliament  for 
rescinding  that  Establishment. 

Tije  question  was  once  put, "  The  baptism  of  John — was  it  from 
heaven,  or  of  men?"  I  ask,  The  conduct  of  this  nation  and  its 
rulers,  in  recognising,  setting  forward,  and  establishing  by  laws 
the  Protestant  and  Presbyterian  religion — was  it  from  heaven,  or 
of  men?  Was  it  a  work  of  God,  or  a  mere  human  invention? 
This  question  cannot  be  evaded  by  any  Seceder.  We  have  seen 
that  the  original  Testimony  expressly  recognised  it  as  a  great 
work  of  God,  to  be  thankfully  remembered  and  recorded ;  and  it 
is  matter  of  lamentation,  that  Seceders  should  now  be  unable  or 
afraid  to  answer  the  question.  But  the  work  of  the  Lord  is 
honourable,  and  shall  be  remembered. 

Another  point  which  has  been  in  controversy,  is  the  national 
obligation  of  the  religious  covenants  entered  into  in  this  land. 
The  doctrine  of  the  new  Testimony  is,  that  "  religious  covenant- 
ing is  entirely  an  ecclesiastical  duty"  (p.  1(52 ;)  that  persons  enter 
into  it  "  as  members  of  the  Church,  and  not  as  members  of  the 
State;"  that  "  those  invested  with  civil  power  have  no  other  con- 
cern with  it  than  as  Church  members"   (pp.  152,  162;)  and  ac- 
cordingly it  restricts  the  obligation  of  the  covenants  of  this  land 
to  persons  of  all  ranks  only  in  their  spiritual  character,  and  as 
Church  members.     But  it  cannot  admit  of  a  doubt,  that  the  Na- 
tional and  Solemn  League  and  Covenant  were  national  oaths,  in 
the  most  proper  sense  of  the  word  ;  that  they  were  intended  as 
such  by  those  who  framed  them,  and  that  they  were  entered  into 
in  this  view  by  the  three  kingdoms  ;  the  civil  rulers  entering  into 
them,  enacting  them,  and  setting  them  forward  in  their  public 
capacity,  as  well  as  the  ecclesiastical.     And  the  uniform  opinion 
of  Presb^'terians,  from  the  time  that  they  were  taken,  has  been, 
that  they  are  binding  in  a.  national  as  well  as  an  ecclesiastical  point 
of  view.     I  shall  only  produce  the  testimony  of  one  respectable 
writer  (Principal  Forrester  :j     "The  binding  force  (says  he)  of 
these  engagements  appears  in  the  subjects  they  affect,  as,  first, 
Our  Church  in  her  Representatives,  and  in  their  most  public 
capacity,  the  General  Assemblies  in  both  nations;  second,  The 
State  Representatives  and  Parliaments.     Thus,  all  assurances  are 
given  that  either  civil  or  ecclesiastical  laws  can  afford;  and  the 
public  faith  of  Church  and  State  is  plighted  with  inviolable  ties; 
so  that  they  must  stand  while  we  liave  a  Church  or  State  in 
Scotland ;   both  as  men  and  as  Christians,  as  members  of  the 
Church  and  State,  under  either  a  religious  or  civil  consideration, 
we  stand  hereby  inviolably  engaged;  and  not  only  Representa- 
tives; but  also  the  Incorporation  (or  body)  of  Church  and  State, 
are  under  the  same."     On  this  broad  ground  have  Presbyterians 
stated  the  obligation  of  the  Covenants  of  this  land.     And  why 
should  they  not?     Why  should  we  seek  to  narrow  their  obliga- 
tion ?     Ave  we  afraid  that  these  lands  should  be  too  closely  bound 
to  the  Lord?     If  religious  covenanting  be  a  moral  duty,  if  oaths 
and  vows  are  founded  in  the   light  of  nature  as  well  as  in  the 
Word  of  God,  why  should  not  men  be  capable  of  entering  into 
them,  and  of  being  bound  by  them  in  every  character  in  which 
they  are  placed  under  the  moral  government  of  God,  as  men  and 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  CONGREGATION 1S06.       379 

as  Christians,  as  members  of  the  Church  and  of  the  State,  when- 
ever there  is  a  call  to  enter  into  such  covenants  as  have  a  respect 
to  all  these  characters,  as  was  the  case  in  the  covenants  of  our 
ancestors,  which  Seceders  have  witnessed  for  and  formally  re- 
newed ?  In  the  former  testimony  witness  was  expressly  borne 
to  the  national  obligation  of  these  Covenants.  In  speaking  of 
the  National  Covenant,  it  says,  "  By  this  solemn  oath  and  cove- 
nant this  kingdom  made  a  wa<;ona/ surrender  of  themselves  unto 
the  Lord."  (Display,  5G.)  It  declares  that  the  Solemn  League 
and  Covenant  was  entered  into,  and  binding  upon  the  three 
kingdoms — that  both  of  them  are  binding  upon  the  church  and 
lands,  and  the  church  and  nations  ;  the  deed  of  civil  constitution 
is  said  to  have  been  settled  in  consequence  of  the  most  solemn 
covenant  engagements,  and  the  rescinding  of  the  law  in  favour 
of  the  true  religion  is  testified  against  as  an  act  of  national  per- 
jury. Yet  by  the  new  Testimony  all  are  bound  to  declare,  that 
religious  covenanting  is  entirely  an  ecclesiastical  duty,  and  bind- 
ing only  on  the  Church  and  her  members  as  such ;  and  that 
"  those  invested  with  civil  power  have  no  other  concern  with  it 
but  as  Church  members."  Is  it  any  wonder  that  there  should 
be  Seceders  who  cannot  submit  to  receive  such  doctrine?  The 
time  will  come,  when  it  will  be  matter  of  astonishment  that  so 
few  have  appeared  in  such  a  cause,  and  that  those  who  have  ap- 
peared should  be  borne  down,  opposed,  and  spoken  against.  It 
is  not  a  matter  of  small  moment  to  restrict  the  obligation  of 
solemn  oaths,  the  breach  of  which  is  chargeable  upon  a  land,  or 
to  explain  away  any  part  of  that  obhgation.  The  quarrel  of 
God's  covenant  is  not  yet  thoroughly  pleaded  by  him  against  these 
guilty  and  apostatizing  lands,  and  all  that  have  any  due  sense  of 
the  inviolable  obligation  of  them,  should  tremble  at  touching  or 
enervating  them  in  the  smallest  point. 

From  this  brief  account  I  think  it  evidently  appears,  that  there 
is  a  real  and  material  diiference  between  the  old  and  new  Testi- 
mony— a  difl^erence  not  only  in  form  and  words,  but  in  principle  ; 
and  particularly,  that  what  was  formerly  expressly  testified  for 
as  a  work  of  God,  is  no  longer  considered  as  such,  but  dropt  and 
buried,  if  not  directly  contradicted.  That  the  Synod  should  have 
seen  reason  for  altering  or  dropping  some  of  the  principles  for- 
merly adopted  by  them,  is  not  so  great  a  matter  of  astonishment. 
But  that  persons  should  be  found,  who  have  read  and  understood 
the  two  Testimonies,  and  who  shall  persevere  in  asserting  that 
there  is  no  difference  in  principle  between  the  two— that  the 
Synod  have  not  dropt  or  departed  from  any  part  of  their  former 
Testimony,  is  truly  astonishing.  It  would  have  been  more  con- 
sistent and  candid  to  have  avowed  the  alteration,  to  have  pleaded 
that  the  former  doctrine  was  untenable,  and  to  give  in  reasons 
for  the  new.  But  the  assertions  of  men  upon  this  point,  how- 
ever often  and  strongly  repeated,  cannot  produce  conviclion  upon 
any  mind  that  seriously  seeks  for  truth.  Every  man  must  ex- 
amine for  himself,  and  as  he  shall  answer  to  God.  And,  brethren, 
I  do  not  wish  you  to  receive  the  statement  that  1  have  now  given 
upon  my  testimony.  No  man  will  regard  much  the  temporary 
impression  that  is  made  upon  the  mind  of  an  audience  by  a  par- 
ticular discourse.    If  they  do  not  examine  for  themselves,  the 


380  APPENDIX. 

impression  will  be  erased  by  the  very  next  discourse  they  hear 
on  the  other  side.  Hence  so  many  Seceders  are  at  present  like 
"  children  tossed  to  and  fro  by  every  wind  of  doctrine.'  But  if 
persons  once  examine  for  themselves,  they  will  obtain  a  know- 
ledge of  facts  and  fi.xed  principles,  which  will  enable  them  to 
detect  the  fallacy  of  vague  declamation,  and  to  distinguish  be- 
tween solid  reasoning,  and  those  good  words  and  smooth  speeches 
which  impose  upon  the  simple.  You  will  find  all  that  I  have 
stated  in  the  first  volume  of  Mr.  Gib's  Display,  which  you  can 
compare  with  the  new  Testimony  of  Synod. 

In  what  I  have  said  at  present,  I  have  confined  myself  almost 
entirely  to  the  difference  between  the  former  profession  of  the 
Secession  and  that  which  is  now  made  by  the  Synod,  without 
entering  into  a  vindication  of  the  principles  which  are  now  op- 
posed. I  shall  not,  however,  shun  to  do  this,  as  1  may  have  an 
opportunity  in  providence;  for  I  am  persuaded,  that  as  they  are 
founded  on  the  Word  of  God  and  right  reason,  so  the  more  a 
person  examines  the  Scriptures  without  prejudice  and  prepos- 
session, the  more  ready  will  ho  be  to  adopt  them;  and  low  as 
their  credit  is  now  sunk  in  the  body,  and  few  as  are  now  disposed 
to  appear  for  them,  I  entertain  not  the  smallest  doubt  but  that 
their  credit  will  yet  be  revived  not  only  in  the  Secession,  but  in 
a  more  general  way.  When  the  time  to  favour  Zion  is  come, 
what  have  been  esteemed  her  small  and  despised  things  will  ap- 
pear great  things,  and  the  stones  which  her  sons  shall  gather  out 
of  her  rubbish  will  appear  precious  stones. 

"  But  why  did  you  not  state  these  things  to  the  Synod  .'  They 
can  never  understand  what  you  wish.  If  you  would  only  tell 
them  what  you  wish  they  would  grant  it."  I  confess  such  things 
are  said,  but  all  that  is  said  is  not  true.  What  have  we  been 
doing  for  these  six  or  eight  years  back  ?  What  has  been  the  pur- 
port of  all  the  papers  that  we  have  given  in  to  the  Synod.'  We 
have  told  them  that  the  proposition  in  the  new  Testimony,  which 
confines  the  power  of  magistrates  to  secular  interests  only,  and 
which  excludes  religion  from  their  care,  appears  to  us  unscrip- 
tural  and  dangerous  :  they  have  defended  it.  We  have  told  them 
that  another  proposition,  that  religious  covenanting  is  entirely  an 
ecclesiastical  duty,  appears  to  us  inconsistent  with  Scripture,  with 
the  covenants  of  our  ancestors,  and  the  former  Testimony:  they 
have  defended  this  also,  and  refused  to  expunge  it.  We  have 
pointed  out  the  defect  in  the  new  Testimony,  in  not  witnessing, 
as  formerly,  for  the  civil  reformation  and  settlement  of  religion; 
this  they  have  declined  to  insert.  What,  then,  can  it  serve  to 
say  that  we  will  not  tell  them  what  we  want,  except  to  hold  us 
out  ta  odium  as  unreasonable  men,  who  know  not  what  they  want, 
or  who  will  not  declare  it. 

"  But  you  have  not  stated  what  your  principles  are  respecting 
the  power  of  the  civil  magistrate  in  religion.  How  far  would 
you  allow  him  to  go  ?'''  Where  was  the  need  for  our  stating  how 
far  he  should  extend  his  power,  when  the  Synod  have  denied  that 
he  has  any  power  at  all  about  this  matter.'  Besides,  we  never 
saw  any  reason  to  trouble  the  Synod  with  difficult  questions  as 
to  how  far  the  magistrate  might  go  in  all  circumstances.  All  that 
we  wished  was  to  maintain  the  Testimony  which  had  been  for- 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  CONGREGATION — 1806.        381 

merly  exhibited  in  behalf  of  the  civil  reformation  and  settlements 
of  religion  in  former  periods  vvhicli  was  fixed  in  consequence  of 
solemn  covenants  which  are  still  binding  upon  the  land.  So  that 
all  reports  of  our  troubling  the  Synod  with  new  opinions  or  dis- 
puted sentiments  upon  the  subject  are  misrepresentations,  flowing, 
1  charitably  hope,  from  ignorance,  but  for  which  we  have  not 
given  the  slightest  grounds. 

"  But  do  you  think  that  such  a  body  as  the  Synod  have  really 
dissented  from  their  former  principles,  and  adopted  principles 
that  are  unscriptural  ?"  Certainly  ;  if  I  did  not  think  so  I  would 
be  self-condemned  for  opposing  their  deeds  as  1  have  done.  1 
might  ask  in  turn,  Is  any  Synod  infallible  ?  May  not  any  council 
or  Synod  since  the  apostles'  days  err  ?  Has  no  such  thing  hap- 
pened before  ?  But  when  a  people  come  to  attach  their  faith  so 
far  to  any  body  of  men  as  to  think  it  incredible  that  they  should 
go  viTong,  or  to  hold  up  this  as  a  sufficient  answer  to  all  evidence 
of  the  fact  which  is  set  before  them,  that  people  are  under  delu- 
sion, and  there  is  no  saying  where  they  may  be  led. 

"  But,  at  any  rate,  the  measures  you  have  taken  are  high  ;  and 
although  the  Synod  have  gone  wrong  in  some  things,  yet  this 
cannot  warrant  you  to  make  a  breach  in  the  body."  I  readily 
grant  that  there  is  a  difference  between  the  cause  which  we  are 
maintaining,  and  the  particular  measures  which  we  may  have 
taken  in  its  maintenance;  and  that  many  may  approve  of  the 
former  who  may  blame  the  latter.  And  while  I  have  claimed  a 
liberty  to  act  for  myself  in  this  matter  as  light  and  conscience 
directed,  I  have  not  required  that  others  should  approve  of  this. 
At  the  same  time,  upon  the  most  cool  reflection,  I  see  no  reason 
to  condemn  myself  for  what  I  was  led  to  do  ;  and  what  is  more, 
I  am  persuaded  that  impartial  persons  who  attend  to  the  circum- 
stances in  which  we  are  placed,  and  to  the  views  which  we  in 
conscience  entertain,  cannot  condemn  it.  There  is  a  vpide  dif- 
ference between  partial  acts  of  Church  government  and  discipline 
which  may  be  grieving  to  a  person,  and  acts  which  are  intended 
for  and  converted  into  public  terms  of  communion  for  the  whole 
body.  Acts  of  the  former  kind  may  be  borne  with,  they  are 
seldom  acted  upon;  but  tliose  of  the  latter  kind  are  the  common 
bond  of  fellowship,  and  all  are  understood  as  either  approving  of 
or  acquiescing  in  them.  Hear  the  words  of  the  introduction: 
"  No  person  can  be  admitted  to  communion  vi'ho  does  not  express 
his  approbation  of  all  the  doctrines  in  the  Testimony  itself;"  and 
again,  in  the  chapter  on  communion,  it  is  stated,  "  those  who 
oppose  such  truths  cannot  be  consistently  received  into  her  com- 
munion." Now,  it  is  known  that  such  are  our  views  of  the  mat- 
ter, that  we  consider  ourselves  as  under  an  obligation  to  oppose 
several  things  in  that  Testimony,  so  that  we  are  virtually  and 
even  by  the  letter  of  these  deeds  excluded  from  communion.  It 
is  true  that  in  a  note  prefixed  they  have  said  that  "  the  Synod 
will  exercise  all  due  tenderness,''  &.c.  But  we  cannot  consent 
to  hold,  by  the  tenure  of  indulgence,  principles  which  we  are 
convinced  are  founded  upon  the  Word  of  God,  which  have  been 
owned  by  all  the  Protestant  Churches,  which  had  an  important 
place   in  the  original  Secession  Testimony,  and  the  credit  of 


382  APPENDIX. 

which  all  Seceder3,and  particularly  ministers,  are  solemnly  bound 
to  maintain. 

Tiie  principles  for  which  we  have  been  called  to  contend,  may 
appear  to  many  disputable  or  trivial  matters.  They  do  not  ap- 
pear so  to  us.  We  view  them  as  involving  the  glory  of  God, 
the  honour  of  liim  whom  his  Father  hatli  placed  on  his  holy  hill, 
the  advancement  of  his  public  interest  on  earth,  and  the  welfare 
of  nations.  We  look  upon  religion  as  the  common  concern  of 
all  manliind,  and  that  it  is  tlie  duty  of  persons  to  promote  and 
advance  it  in  every  station  which  tliey  occupy.  We  consider 
that  it  is  eminently  the  duty  of  those  who  are  invested  with  civil 
authority  to  exercise  a  care  about  religion,  and  to  make  laws  for 
countenancing  its  institutions.  We  are  persuaded  that  if  the 
principles  now  adopted  by  Seceders  had  been  acted  upon  in  for- 
mer times  in  this  country,  the  Reformation  could  never  have 
taken  place;  and  that  Satan,  after  having  found  that  his  former 
scheme  of  persecuting  religion  can  no  longer  succeed,  is  now 
endeavouring  to  persuade  men  that  civil  government  and  rulers 
have  nothing  to  do  with  religion  and  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 


No.  III. 
CHARACTER  OF  DR.  CHARLES  STUART,  OF  DUNEARN. 

[The  substance  of  a  speech  delivered  by  Dr.  M'Crie,  at  the  An- 
nual Meeting  of  the  Society  for  the  Support  of  Gaelic  Schools, 
held  within  the  Assembly  Rooms,  George  Street,  on  Monday, 
29th  January  1827.] 

[Page  173.] 

Wii-i.  you,  Sir,  and  this  Assembly  allow  me,  at  this  late  hour, 
to  detain  them  a  very  little,  while  I  advert  to  the  decease,  since 
our  last  Annual  Meeting,  of  an  individual  who  held  a  distin- 
guished office  in  this  Society,  to  whom  the  objects  of  its  benevo- 
lence are  indebted  in  no  common  degree,  and  who  may  justly  be 
called  the  parent  of  the  Institution — Dr.  Charles  Stuart  !  It  is 
well  known  to  many,  that  the  first  idea  of  a  distinct  society  for 
promoting  the  education  of  our  countrymen  in  the  Highlands 
and  Islands,  originated  with  Dr.  Stuart;  and  that  having  imparted 
it,  at  an  occasional  interview,  to  a  reverend  gentleman — (also 
removed  by  death  since  we  last  met) — Dr.  Hall,  whose  warmth 
of  heart  prompted  him  to  encourage  every  benevolent  scheme, 
steps  were  immediately  taken  for  forming  the  Gaelic  School 
Society,  which,  though  rather  unpopular  at  the  commencement 
of  its  operations,  has  now  united  all  suffrages  in  its  favour,  and 
been  the  means  of  doing  extensive  good.  I  know  that  there  is  a 
Providence  which  excites  and  presides  over  all  human  devices 
for  good,  and  I  trust  that  all  who  hear  me  are  disposed  to  ascribe 
the  origin  and  success  of  this  Institution  to  a  higher  than  "  man 
that  dicth;"  but  theie  is  a  subordinate  attention  and  respect  due 


CHARACTER  OF  DR.  CHARLES  STUART.  383 

to  those  whom  the  Father  of  Lights  is  pleased  to  make  instru- 
mental in  any  of  his  beneficent  designs;  nor  can  it  be  wrong  to 
honour  those  whom  he  hath  honoured.  The  delicate  task  (for 
it  is  always  delicate  to  touch  the  memory  of  tlie  dead)  of  intro- 
ducing here  the  name  of  the  Society's  departed  friend,  has,  I 
suppose,  been  intrusted  to  me,  because  I  was  one  of  the  first  to 
whom  he  communicated  the  outlines  of  his  plan,  and  who  were 
induced  by  him  to  take  part  in  its  formation, — a  circumstance,  I 
must  confess,  not  much  to  my  credit;  for  after  seeing  the  Society 
formed,  I  soon  relapsed  into  my  usual  habits  of  retirement,  and 
desisted  from  attendance  on  its  committees,  excusing  myself 
with  the  reflection,  that  the  management  of  its  affairs  was  in  the 
hands  of  better  and  abler  Directors.  Not  so  the  individual  who 
had  been  most  active  in  founding  the  Society;  he  persevered  in 
watching  over  its  interests  as  long  as  his  bodily  health  admitted 
of  his  attending;  and  continued  to  the  last  to  take  the  Uveliest 
interest  in  its  prosperity. 

Sir,  it  is  a  painful,  but  not  an  unprofitable  exercise,  to  reflect 
at  intervals  on  the  individuals  with  whom  we  have  been  con- 
nected in  the  different  circles  of  society  to  which  we  belong. 
And  when  we  recall  their  names  and  their  images,  and  look 
around  us  to  find  them,  where — ah!  where  are  they.'  Gone! 
Some  of  them,  indeed,  our  seniors,  who  might  be  expected  in 
the  course  of  nature  to  go  before  us;  but  many  of  them  our 
coevals,  and  not  a  few  of  them  our  juniors,  who  had  outstripped 
us  in  the  career  of  usefulness,  as  well  as  in  the  race  of  time. 
But  whether  they  were  younger  or  older,  active  or  remiss,  they 
are  gone,  and  we  are  surrounded  by  others,  who,  if  we  remain  so 
long  as  to  suffer  them  to  become  acquainted  with  us,  will  soon  find 
us  a-missing  also.  It  is  in  one  point  of  view  an  humbling  con- 
sideration to  man,  that  he  can  produce  works  that  will  endure 
longer  tlian  himself;  like  the  artist  who  constructs  and  sets  in 
motion  a  machine  which,  with  a  little  periodical  winding  up  will 
perform  its  diurnal  and  monthly  cycles,  and  continue  to  keep 
pace  with  time,  after  the  maker's  pulse  has  ceased  to  beat,  and 
his  frame  fallen  into  disrepair  and  dissolution.  The  child,  with 
his  feeble  finger,  inserts  in  his  father's  garden  a  scion,  and  waters 
it  with  his  little  cruse;  it  grows  to  be  a  great  tree;  when  he  has 
fallen  into  decay,  it  has  only  attained  its  maturity,  and  will  sur- 
vive liis  children's  children.  Thus  it  is  with  the  pigmy  creators 
of  this  world.  They  die  before  the  workmanship  of  their  own 
hands, — before  their  works  of  wood,  and  clay,  and  rags,  as  well 
as  of  iron,  and  brass,  and  gold.  The  houses  which  we  build  are 
our  sepulchral  monuments;  the  trees  which  we  plant,  the  yews 
which  shall  wave  and  weep  over  our  graves.  Are  all  the  works 
of  man,  then,  vanity,  on  which  nothing  is  to  be  read  but  the 
lesson  reiterated  by  tlie  stones  of  a  church-yard.'  No;  he  may 
be  instrumental  in  producing  what  bears  witness  to  his  higher 
destiny — deeds  of  mercy  and  piety,  in  which  lie  is  a  "  worker 
together  with  God,"  and  by  which,  "  though  dead,  he  yet  speak- 
eth,"  and  labours  after  he  has  entered  into  his  rest. 

AH  the  exertions  of  man  may  be  said  to  be  directed  to  two 
objects:  to  provide  a  remedy  for  his  weakness,  and  an  antidote 
against  his  mortality.     For  accomplisiiing  both  those  ends,  Soci- 


3S4  APPENDIX. 

ety  is  the  grand  invention,  if  invention  it  may  be  called,  which 
nature  itself  teaches.  It  forms  not  only  a  combination  of  powers, 
but  a  combination  of  lives.  Vis  unita  forlior  is  not  truer  than 
Vis  vnita  diiiturnior.  This  is  true  eminently  of  that  Society 
whose  organization  is  from  heaven,  over  whose  preservation  a 
special  Providence  watches,  and  aoainst  which  the  gates  of  hell 
shall  never  prevail;  but  it  is  true,  in  a  lower  sense,  of  voluntary 
societies  for  benevolent  and  religious  purposes,  which,  so  long 
as  they  do  not  erratically  cross  her  orbit,  may  be  viewed  as 
satellites  of  this  superior  planet.  Society  dies  not,  though  the 
members  which  compose  it  die  daily.  It  is  the  true  life-insurance, 
— the  genuine  PhcBuix,  possessing  the  power  of  reproduction, — 
a  web  which  the  wisdom  of  God,  in  nature  and  revelation,  has 
taught  men  to  weave  round  the  beam  of  time,  as  some  airy  insects 
are  said  to  weave  theirs  round  the  sunbeams.  It  is  constantly 
losing  and  gaining,  casting  off  and  collecting,  wasting  and  re- 
pairing, dying  and  reviving.  In  its  progress,  individuals  are 
dropping  off  unperceived,  without,  in  ordinary  cases,  affecting 
its  operations,  or  requiring  its  motions  to  be  for  a  moment  sus- 
pended. But  there  are  persons,  at  intervals,  whose  fall  will  be 
felt;  and,  though  it  do  not  cause  a  shock,  will  create  a  pause; 
and  justify,  if  it  do  not  call  for,  the  stopping  of  the  machinery 
for  a  very  little,  if  it  were  but  to  look  in  and  see  that  all  is  right, 
and  to  note  the  event  for  ovir  own  admonition.  But  I  wander 
from  the  purpose. 

Sir,  I  feel  personally  gratified  in  having  to  move  that  the  death 
of  Dr.  Stuart  shall  be  entered  on  the  records  of  this  Society.  Of 
his  character  I  shall  say  nothing,  but  what  has  fallen  within  my 
own  observation.  Owing  to  disparity  of  years,  and  other  cir- 
cumstances which  need  not  to  be  mentioned  here,  I  did  not  enjoy 
his  friendship  in  the  strictest  sense  of  that  word ;  but  I  had  the 
honour  and  happiness  of  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  him 
during  a  considerable  number  of  years,  and  flatter  myself  that  I 
had  some  share  of  his  confidence.  I  have  spent  many  pleasant, 
and,  I  hope,  not  altogether  useless  hours  in  his  company;  and  I 
am  sure  my  memory  does  not  deceive  me  when  I  say.  that  1  do 
not  recollect  of  a  single  unkind  or  unpleasant  feeling  being  ex- 
cited, during  the  period  of  our  intercourse,  tbougli  we  have 
walked  occasionally  over  debatable  ground,  and  differed  on  points 
which  neither  of  us  regarded  as  trivial  or  unimportant.  For, 
permit  me  to  say.  Sir,  that  it  is  no  test  of  forbearance  for  persons 
to  agree  in  diflering  about  sentiments,  which  both  or  even  one 
of  them  holds  as  of  little  or  no  moment,  which  he  can  quit  with 
as  much  ease  as  he  leaves  furnished  lodgings,  and  change  as  he 
would  his  dress,  to  go  to  a  masquerade  or  a  funeral.  In  Dr. 
Stuart,  I  always  found  the  honourable  feelings  of  the  gentleman, 
the  refined  and  liberal  thinking  of  the  scholar,  and  the  unaffected 
and  humble  piety  of  the  Christian.  I  would  say  more,  but  I  am 
checked  by  the  recollection,  that  the  individual  of  whom  I  speak 
was  a  declared  enemy  to  panegyric.  I  have  heard  him  re- 
peatedly mention  it  as  a  blot  on  meetings  of  this  kind,  that  the 
speakers  and  the  audience  appeared  to  come  together  "  to  receive 
honour  one  of  another."  I  liave  signified  my  acquiescence  in  the 
justness  of  his  remark  ;  and  were  I  even  to  seem  to  indulge  in  the 


SPEECH  AT  GREEK  MEETING — 1822.  385 

practice,  I  would  feel  conscious  of  a  breach  of  confidence,  and 
of  really  injuring  while  I  professed  to  honour  his  memory.  I  beg 
leave,  therefore,  to  move, — 

"  That  the  Members  present  do  unanimously  express  their  high 
respect  for  the  memory  and  character  of  their  late  worthy  Vice- 
President,  Dr.  Charles  Stuart,  of  Dunearn." 


No.  IV. 

SPEECH  AT  A  PUBLIC  MEETING  IN  BEHALF  OF 

THE  GREEKS,— August  7,  1822.* 

(Page  242  ) 

Permit  me,  Sir,  before  proceeding  to  the  business  which  has 
convened  us,  to  say  a  very  few  words  by  way  of  apology  for 
myself  for  coming  forward  to  address  the  meeting.  When  I  state 
that,  during  the  twenty-six  years  that  I  have  resided  in  this  city, 
the  present  is  only  the  third  time  that  I  have  ventured  to  address 
an  assembly  of  tlie  inlmbitants  called  for  any  public  purpose,  1 
scarcely  think  that  I  run  any  great  risk  of  being  accused  of  a 
fondness  for  thrusting  myself  forward  on  such  occasions.  On  the 
contrary.  lam  quite  aware  tliat  my  conduct  has  rather  subjected 
me  to  the  imputation  of  indiiference  or  hostility  to  those  benevo- 
lent undertakings  and  beneficent  institutions  which  all  good  men 
approve  of  and  desire  to  promote  to  the  utmost  of  their  ability. 
As  I  am  giving  a  reason  for  my  present  conduct,  not  making  an 
apology  for  my  past,  I  shall  merely  say  that,  studious  in  my 
habits,  and  engaged  in  literary  pursuits  wliicli  I  thought  not 
altogether  unprofitable,  and  which  often  could  not  be  interrupted 
without  being  thrown  back  and  disordered,  I  lislt  that  I  was  not 
neglecting  my  duty,  so  long  as  I  had  the  best  grounds  for  be- 
lieving that  such  benevolent  measures  were  in  no  danger  of 
failing  for  want  of  support,  and  that  there  were  always  at 
hand  a  sufficient  number  of  individuals  more  (jualified  than  I 
was  for  the  task,  ready  to  patronise  them,  and  to  take  an  active 
part  in  their  defence  and  management.  I  reserved  myself,  there- 
fore, for  such  cases  in  which,  besides  the  importance  and  urgency 
of  the  object,  there  were  certain  circumstances  arising  out  of  the 
cause,  or  temporarily  connected  with  its  discussion,  which  might 
operate  in  deterring  persons  of  benevolent  minds  from  stepping 
forward  to  advocate  it.  And  whenever  such  cases  have  occurred, 
and  there  was  reason  to  fear  that  they  would  fail  or  be  endangered 
for  want  of  support,  I  have  considered  it  as  my  imperious  duty, 
if  not  to  volunteer  my  services,  at  least  to  acquiesce  in  tlie  re- 
quests of  those  who  thought  that  my  exertions  could  be  in  any 
degree  useful. — Though  the  largeness  and  respectability  of  this 
meeting  show  that  my  fears  have  happily  been  exaggerated,  yet 

*  Taken  from  the  report  in  the  Scotsvian,  August  10,  1822,  compared  with 
the  Mr=.  notes  of  the  sp»ech  in  my  possession. — Editor. 

33 


386  APPENDIX, 

you  will  excuse  me  when  I  say,  that  I  look  on  the  present  cause 
as  one  of  this  description;  and  that,  impelled  principally  by  this 
consideration,!  have  offered  myself  as  a  weak  but  willing  advocate 
of  that  people,  the  tale  of  whose  wrongs  and  sufferings  has  ex- 
cited your  sympathy  and  brought  you  together. 

The  diffidence  which  my  inexperience  nmst  produce,  and  the 
embarrassment  inseparable  from  it,  are,  I  confess,  considerably 
abated  when  I  reflect  on  the  greatness  of  the  cause,  and  the  call 
1  have  to  appear  in  its  behalf  Indeed  I  would  condemn — I 
would  be  ashamed  of  myself — if,  on  such  an  occasion,  after  the 
flurry  which  a  first  appearance  causes  on  nerves  not  very  firmly 
strung,!  should  suffer  bashfulness,  or  selfish  sensibility,  or  timid 
apprehensions  of  my  own  incapacity,  to  discompose  my  mind, 
and  prevent  me  from  exerting  any  powers  which  !  possess,  how- 
ever feeble,  in  the  discliarge  of  the  task  which  is  imposed  on  me. 
But  in  truth.  Sir,  the  task  which  I  have  to  perform  is.  not  a  dif- 
ficult one.  What  am  I  expected  to  do?  !s  it  to  excite  your 
compassion  and  sympathy  towards  the  suffering  Greeks?  Am 
I  required  to  harrow  up  your  feelings  by  reciting  the  heavy  cata- 
logue of  Turkish  barbarities — of  whole  districts  laid  waste  and 
depopulated — the  male  inhabitants  consigned  to  a  cruel  death, 
and  the  women  and  children  torn  away  by  ruffians?  This  has 
been  already  done — this  sympathy  has  been  already  produced  by 
the  appalling  and  heart-rending  facts  which  have  come  to  j-our 
knowledge;  and  I  am  sure  that  all  that  can  be  wanted  is,  that 
the  people  of  Edinburgh  should  be  made  acquainted  with  the  most 
effectual  way  of  conveying  that  relief  which  they  are  satisfied  is 
required,  and  which  it  would  gratify  tlieir  best  ieelings  to  bestow. 
!s  it  expected  that  !  should  create  an  interest  in  your  minds,  by 
exciting  those  recollections,  which  are  connected  with  the  name 
of  the  people  who  are  claiming  our  sympathy?  !t  would  be  an 
insult  to  your  understandings  and  hearts  to  suppose  for  a  moment 
that  this  does  not  already  exist;  for  what  man  that  has  a  spark  of 
patriotism  in  his  breast,  or  that  has  any  taste  for  liberal  knowledge, 
does  not  feel  himself  concerned  in  every  tiling  connected  with  the 
name  and  the  fates  of  Greece?  Although  it  should  be  supposed 
that  through  some  strange  fatality — some  unaccountable  concur- 
rence of  circumstances,  this  feeling  had  been  blunted  and  become 
torpid,  yet  it  would  not  require  any  vast  powers,  any  preternatu- 
ral charm  to  awaken  it.  Nothing  more  would  be  necessary  for 
me,  even  in  this  case,  than  to  lay  before  you  my  own  feelings, 
and  to  point  out  to  you  the  causes  which  first  awakened  and  still 
keep  them  alive. 

Sir,  !  was  early  initiated  into  the  language  of  Greece,  and 
taught  to  relish  the  beauties  of  its  classical  writers,  and  to  admire 
the  sublimities  of  sentiment  which  abound  in  their  writings. 
Though  maturer  age,  and  the  principles  which  I  had  also  early 
•derived  from  those  Scriptures,  which  in  my  esteem  are 

"  Above  all  Greek — above  all  KoiDan  fame," 

though  these  have  corrected  my  first  impressions,  yet  they  have 
not  weakened  their  general  force ;  and  !  am  not  ashamed  to  sny, 
that  tlie  pronouncing  of  the  name  of  Greece  still  occasions  in  me 


SPEECH  AT  GREEK  MEETING  — 1822.  387 

a  mixed  emotion  of  veneration  and  delight;  for  it  brings  to  my 
recollection  the  sayings  and  tiie  exploits  of  )ier  heroes,  her  sages, 
her  freemen  and  patriots,  by  whom  her  name  has  been  conse- 
crated in  history,  and  the  splendour  of  whose  genius  and  achieve- 
ments has  survived  a  bleak  and  barren  waste  of  fourteen  centuries. 
—  You  will  not  suspect  me  of  egotism.  I  do  not  suppose  that  the 
feelings  I  have  attempted  to  express  are  peculiar  to  myself,  or 
thai  I  feel  them  more  strongly  than  others:  I  mean  to  speak  the 
I'eelings  of  every  genuine  scholar.  I  have  transferred,  by  a  figure, 
what  I  have  spoken  from  you  to  myself,  lest  there  should  be  a 
single  individual  who  has  crept  into  this  room,  as  if  it  were  an 
unlawful  conventicle,  and  who  wishes  to  lay  upon  the  altar  of 
charity  the  gift  which  conscience  or  compassion  extorts  from  him, 
while  he  is  ashamed  of  the  name  or  lineage  of  that  noble  people 
whom  he  is  honoured  in  relieving. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  me.  Sir,  in  addressing  you  at  this  time, 
to  dilate  on  the  obligations  under  which  modern  literature  lies  to 
that  of  Greece,  or  to  show  how  much  of  that  knowledge,  taste 
and  refinement  of  which  we  boast  has  arisen  from  the  perusal  of 
her  classics,  whose  writings  have  so  long  been  the  property  of 
the  nations  of  the  west.  I  am  under  no  necessity — I  mean  no 
temptation — in  order  to  accomplish  my  present  object,  to  under- 
rate the  discoveries  and  improvements  of  modern  times;  but  I  can 
trace  them  all  to  the  revival  of  literature  in  the  fifteenth  century, 
which  opened  to  Europe  the  intellectual  riches  of  Greece.  Nay, 
more:  for  this  revival  we  are  mainly  indebted  to  tlie  agency  and 
activity  of  the  Greeks  themselves — J  mean  the  modern  Greeks, 
whose  character  has  been  so  lightly  spoken  of,  but  without  whose 
aid  their  manuscripts  would  have  been  left  to  rot  in  monasteries, 
oremploj'ed  in  kindling  the  fires  of  an  aM^o-(/a-/e.  I  cannot  refrain 
here  from  saying,  though  it  is  a  digression  from  the  subject,  that 
1  have  always  i'eh  hijrt  at  the  sneers  of  the  elegant,  though  not 
always  impartial,  historian  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  when  speaking  of  the  modern  Greeks;  and  the  too  evi- 
dent pleasure  with  which  he  selects  every  fact  and  circumstance 
calculated  to  degrade  their  character  at  the  time  when  they  were 
subjugated  by  the  Turks,  even  thouuh  he  professes  to  do  this  by 
way  of  contrasting  them  with  their  ancestors.  Through  the 
mediun)  of  history,  by  which  we  are  enabled  to  take  a  retrospec- 
tive view  through  the  long  vi.sta  of  many  centuries,  the  light  of 
literature  and  science  which  has  since  jicrvaded  all  Europe,  is  to 
be  seen  dawning  feebly  on  the  remote  mountains  of  Calabria,  and 
can  be  distinctly  traced  to  Greece.  It  was  then,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  fourteenth  century,  that  the  prince  of  modern  lyric 
poets  first  met  with  a  Greek  monk,  named  Barlaam,  who  initi- 
ated him  into  the  principles  of  his  native  language,  at  that  time 
utterly  unknown  in  Western  Europe,  it  was  in  the  same  place 
that  the  contemporary  and  friend  of  Petrarch,  the  enlightened 
and  witty  Bocaccio,  acquired  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  the 
same  language,  and  was  furnished  with  the  first  translation  of  the 
poems  of  Homer,  by  a  pupil  of  Barlaam,  whose  name  has  at 
present  escaped  me.  They  came  for  the  purpose  of  supplicating 
tlie  Western  powers  to  resist  the  Turkish  forces.  They  were 
unsuccessful  in  their  •ip|)lication.s,but  their  missiun  was  produc- 


388  APPENDIX. 

tive  of  lasting  benefit  to  the  nations  which  they  visited,  and 
deserves  to  be  held  by  their  inhabitants  in  perpetual  remembrance. 
Previous  to  that  time,  Western  Europe  was  involved  in  thick 
darkness.  Dante  had  indeed  arisen;  but  his  mighty  genius 
blazed  and  burned  within  its  own  Inferno,  and  produced  no  other 
effect  among  his  countrymen  than  that  of  making  the  darkness 
visible.  From  the  time  of  Petrarch,  the  clouds  continued  to 
dissipate,  and  this  effect  was  increased  by  means  of  successive 
exiles  from  Greece,  who  visited  the  courts  of  Italy,  France,  Ger- 
many, and  Britain,  creating,  wherever  they  went,  a  thirst  for 
their  beautiful  language;  until  at  last,  all  the  stores  of  Grecian 
literature,  which  escaped  the  barbarous  hands  of  the  Turks,  were 
transferred  to  Italy,  and  from  thence  diffused  througii  the  neigh- 
bouring countries.  It  is  to  the  Greeks  that  we  are  indebted  for 
the  principal  remains  of  ancient  literature,  which,  during  the 
Gothic  ages,  had  been  locked  up  in  Constantinople  and  other 
places  in  the  East.  The  taking  of  Constantinople,  and  conse- 
quent dispersion  of  the  Greek  literati  who  had  been  sheltered 
there,  have  placed  these  treasures  on  the  common  table  of  Eu- 
rope ;  thus  we  have  become  possessed  of  the  sacred  original  of 
the  Old  Testament, — the  venerable  translation  of  it  into  the 
Greek  language, — the  original  of  the  New  Testament, — and  the 
writings  of  the  Christian  Fathers,  along  with  all  the  classic  stores 
of  Greece.  When  these  were  introduced  into  Western  Europe, 
I  think  I  hear  the  angel  of  Providence  thus  addressing  the  in- 
liabitants: — "These  will  enable  you  to  set  up  a  barrier  against 
the  tumultuous,  and  till  now  irresistible  tide  of  barbarian  irrup- 
tions which  have  overwhelmed  you  ;  they  will  aid  you  in  effect- 
ing your  emancipation  from  the  shackles  of  despotism  which 
entwined  themselves  around  both  mind  and  body;  and  by  these 
sacred  pledges,  whenever  a  happier  star  shall  rise  on  Greece, 
sympathize  with  her,  and  exert  yourself  for  her  relief!" 

I  cannot  here  avoid  expressing  surprise  and  regret  at  the  apathy 
which  scholars  and  literati  have  displayed  on  this  subject. — The 
mere  scholar  and  literatus,  indeed,  often  becomes  the  cautious 
and  prudent  politician.  It  would  be  easy  to  show  that  such  per- 
sons have  done  comparatively  little  for  the  good  of  mankind,  or 
for  the  direct  advancement  of  any  public  cause  which  happened 
to  be  at  stake  in  the  day  in  which  they  lived.  The  spirit  of 
literature  and  science  is  too  weak  and  cold,  in  itself,  to  excite 
those  who  are  actuated  by  it  to  any  great,  hazardous,  or  magnani- 
mous deeds.  Provided  they  are  permitted  peaceably  to  walk  in 
their  academic  groves,  tolerated  in  the  free  indulgence  of  their 
speculations  and  unrestrained  in  the  expression  of  their  discove- 
ries, they  are  contented  to  allow  human  affairs  to  go  on  in  their 
usual  course,  and  to  tolerate,  in  their  turn,  the  grossest  abuses. 
The  spirit  by  which  they  are  influenced  more  easily  forms  an 
alliance  with  this  world,  and  there  are  many  instances  of  their 
pursuing  its  profits,  honours,  and  even  pleasures,  with  as  much 
greediness  as  those  who  never  addicted  themselves  to  the  search 
of  wisdom. 

I  do  not  mean  to  cast  a  summary  and  indiscriminate  censure 
on  all  who  have  not  attended  this  meeting.  The  best  friends  to 
a  cause  often  entertain  different  opinions  as  to  the  most  efficacious 


SPEECH  AT  GREEK  MEETING  —  1S22.  389 

means  of  promoting  it.  What  I  lament  is  the  general  indiffer- 
ence that  has  been  testified  on  the  subject,  and  the  almost  total 
silence  of  those  whose  opinions  would  have  the  greatest  influence 
on  the  public  mind.  There  was  a  time  wiien  Grecian  literature 
was  confined  to  a  very  small  but  trusty  band,  who  were  richly 
imbued  with  the  spirit  of  Christian  philanthropy — who  did  not 
sink  the  character  of  the  man  and  the  citizen  in  that  of  the 
scholar,  but,  who,  having  caught  tiie  enlightened,  enlarged,  and 
patriotic  spirit  which  breathed  in  the  writings  with  whicji  they 
were  conversant,  and  grafted  it  on  the  purer  principles  of  Christi- 
anity, devoted  themselves  to  the  good  of  mankind,  and  were 
always  ready  to  lift  their  voice,  and  even  their  arm  should  it  be 
necessary,  in  the  cause  of  humanity  and  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty.  These  have  passed  away,  and  have  given  place  to 
another  race,  whom  I  sliall  not  characterize.  There  is,  however, 
one  encouragement  left,  and  that  not  a  small  one.  The  treasures 
which  Grecian  literature  contain  are  no  longer  the  exclusive 
property  of  a  particular  caste;  they  have,  by  means  of  transla- 
tions, been  laid  open  to  the  world  at  large.  Tije  works  of  the 
celebrated  bard  (Homer,)  whose  residence  has  immortalized  that 
island,  whicii  has  lately  been  the  theatre  of  Turkish  licentious- 
ness, together  with  the  writings  of  the  most  illustrious  of  his 
countrymen,  have  long  been  in  the  possession  of  the  British  pub- 
lic, who  admire  their  genius  and  imbibe  their  spirit.  I  will  not 
be  suspected  of  wishing  to  disparage  the  knowledge  of  the  origi- 
nal language  of  these  writers,  or  of  denying  its  advantages  for 
the  perception  of  many  of  the  nicer  beauties  of  style  and  com- 
position;  but  neither  will  I  conceal  that,  in  a  good  translation, 
the  English  reader  possesses  all  in  these  writings  that  is  grand 
in  point  of  conception,  and  elevating  in  point  of  sentiment.  All 
classes,  in  this  respect,  stand  now  upon  something  like  a  footing 
of  equality.  Though  scholars  and  literati  may  stand  aloof,  yet 
others  will  come  forward  and  till  up  their  places  ;  and  if  they 
should  attempt  to  excuse  their  conduct  by  exclaiming,  "  Odi 
profanum  rulgus  et  arceo.'^  I  would  only  reply  to  the  proud  excuse 
in  another  Latin  sentence,  "  Surgunt  indocli  ct  rapiunt  ccclum." 
A  gentleman  who  has  travelled  through  Greece,  and  is  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  manners  of  its  inhabitants,  will,  I  understand, 
address  the  meeting,  and  refute,  to  your  satisfaction,  the  calum- 
nies that  have  been  circulated  against  tiie  present  race  of  Greeks. 
It  has  been  said  tliat  they  are  degenerated,  and  certain  acts  of 
retaliation,  which  they  are  said  to  have  committed  on  the  Turks, 
has  been  referred  to  in  proof  of  the  assertion;  but  to  show  that, 
under  the  first  impulses  of  indignation,  it  was  possible  for  the 
bravest  and  the  best  to  commit  very  unwarrantable  acts,  I  would 
first  advert  to  the  treatment  which  the  two  heralds  of  Darius 
received  from  the  Athenians  and  Lacedemonians,  when  they 
demanded  earth  and  water  from  them  as  a  mark  of  submission  to 
their  master.  They  flung  one  into  a  well  and  the  other  into  a 
pit,  and,  with  the  vivacity  peculiar  to  the  Greeks,  told  them  to 
take  thence  as  much  earth  and  water  as  they  pleased !  Yet  this 
unjustifiable  infraction  of  the  laws  of  nations  took  place  at  a  time 
when  a  Miltiades,  aThemlstocles,  and  he  who  had  obtained  from 
his  countrymen  the  name  of  the  Just,  presided  over  the  affairs 
33* 


390  APPENDIX. 

of  Athens;  it  was  committed  by  the  men  who  achieved  the  me- 
morable victories  at  Marathon  and  Salamis;  and  it  was  followed 
by  the  deed  of  that  firm  and  fearless  band,  who,  after  raising  their 
native  Lacedemon  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of  her  glory,  saved  the 
liberties  of  all  Greece,  by  blocking  up  with  their  dead  bodies  the 
Straits  of  Thermopylce. 

Those  who  embark  in  this  cause  may  lay  their  account  with 
misconstructions  of  their  motives.  This  is  unavoidable  from  the 
nature  of  the  cause,  and  from  the  present  state  of  public  opinions 
and  parties.  From  what  has  taken  place  on  former  occasions,  it  is 
not  improbable  that  our  activity  will  be  imputed  to  political  mo- 
tives, and  a  restless  or  factious  desire  to  patronise  and  encourage 
those  who  resist  constituted  authorities.  There  are  general  poli- 
tics and  party  politics.  General  politics  I  understand  to  com- 
prehend the  good  of  mankind,  and  to  form  a  brancii  of  morality 
which  grows  out  of  religion.  This  is  no  question  of  party  politics, 
nor  do  I  propose  that  this  meeting  should  take  it  up  at  all  in  a 
political  light.  I  do  not  wish  to  conceal — I  would  do  violence  to 
the  strongest  feelings  of  my  heart,  if  I  did  conceal — that  I  sym- 
pathize deeply  in  the  struggle  which  tlie  Greeks  are  now  making 
to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  Ottoman  despotism,  and  to  regain  tlieir 
long-lost  liberty  and  independence  as  a  distinct  people.  Were 
that  hero,  to  whom  I  have  already  alluded, — were  Aristides  now 
to  rise  fromtlie  grave,  I  could  imagine  him  addressing  the  modern 
Greeks, — "  O  fallen  !  greatly  fallen  from  the  glorious  character 
of  your  ancestors  ;  but  yet  your  attempt  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of 
ruthless  despotism,  redeems  you  in  some  measure  from  your  de- 
gradation ;  and,  if  you  are  overcome,  I  would  rather  live  in  chains 
with  you,  than  live  free  with  the  nations  who  look  on  your  efforts 
with  coldblooded  unconcern." — It  is  my  fervent  wish,  and  devout 
prayer,  that  He  who  has  revealed  himself  by  the  merciful  name 
of  the  Friend  of  the  oppressed,  may  look  down  from  the  height 
of  his  sanctuary  in  heaven,  break  the  power  of  the  oppressor,  and 
set  them  free  who  are  appointed  to  slavery  and  death.  This,  I 
am  persuaded,  would  not  only  contribute  to  the  temporal  and 
spiritual  prosperity  of  that  people,  but  prove  a  blessing  to  Europe, 
and  eventually  to  the  millions  who  would  yield  an  implicit  sub- 
jection to  the  successors  of  Mahomet.  But  this  is  my  individual 
aspiration,  to  which  no  other  person  present  is  pledged.  We 
have  not  met  to  petition  the  Parliament,  or  his  Majesty's  Go- 
vernment, to  interfere  and  decide  this  dreadful  contest;  though, 
if  it  had  been  thought  advisable  to  address  the  king,  during  his 
presence  in  our  city,  respectfully  imploring  him  to  charge  his 
representative  at  Constantinople,  to  protest  against  that  barbarous 
conduct  of  the  Turks,  which  had  so  lacerated  the  feelings  of  other 
nations — if  such  an  address  had  been  agreed  upon,  1  should  have 
Been  no  harm  in  that ;  and  I  tliink  none  of  those  distinguished 
persons  by  whom  his  Majesty  will  be  surrounded  when  he  arrives, 
would  venture  to  step  between  the  Throne  and  the  People,  to 
intercept  such  an  avowal  of  tlieir  wishes,  or  to  counteract  its 
constitutional  influence. — But  it  is  not  proposed  to  make  any 
declaration  in  favour  of  the  rational  claims  of  the  Greeks,  or  to 
assist  them  in  their  warlike  efforts:  all  that  is  proposed  is,  to  dis- 
charge a  duty  of  charity  to  the  necessitous,  to  perform  a  work  of 
mercv  fo  tlio  wretched. 


SPEECH  AT  GREEK  MEETING — 1825.  391 


No.  V. 

SPEECH  AT  THE  SCOTTISH  LADIES'  SOCIETY  FOR 

PROMOTING  EDUCATION  IN  GREECE. 
,  Delivered  April  9,  1825. 

[Page  244.] 

In  rising  to  address  you  at  this  time,  I  feel  myself  rather  deli- 
cately placed,  as  I  may  be  considered  as  taking  the  part  which 
should  have  fallen  this  day  to  a  gentleman  of  distinguished  talents, 
with  whose  commanding  eloquence  you  expected  to  have  been 
delighted,  and  whose  unavoidable  absence  I  join  with  you  in 
deeply  regretting.  It  is,  however,  no  small  satisfaction  to  my 
mind,  that  by  coming  forward  under  these  circumstances,  I  have 
an  opportunity  of  giving  a  stronger  pledge  of  good- will  to  the  cause 
than  I  had  anticipated.  Happily,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  the  task 
which  has  devolved  on  me  is  not  in  reality  a  difficult  one.  It  is 
only  necessary  to  name  the  object  of  this  meeting,  in  order  to 
secure  a  favourable,  and  even  partial  hearing.  There  is  in  the 
very  name  of  Greece  a  charm  which  is  felt  by  those  who  cannot 
explain  tlie  cause  of  their  emotions;  and  this  feeling  has  been 
greatly  increased  by  the  intensely  interesting  attitude  which  that 
country  has  lately  assumed,  and  the  dauntless  resolution  with 
which  she  maintains  the  struggle  to  vindicate  her  national  inde- 
pendence, and  regain  her  long-lost  liberties.  A  diiFerence  of 
sentiment  has  obtained,  even  in  Britain,  respecting  the  attempts 
which  have  been  made  by  other  nations  of  late  years,  to  throw 
off  the  yoke  of  slavery;  but  the  Greeks  have  united  the  suffrages 
of  all  in  their  favour.  Persons  of  all  parties,  of  all  sects,  and  of 
all  modes  of  thinking,  have  joined  in  exclaiming  with  one  voice, 
<'  Let  Greece  be  free — let  her  be  numbered  again  among  the  na- 
tions, and  renew  her  former  race  of  renown." — The  object  of  this 
meeting,  and  the  means  by  which  it  is  proposed  to  carry  it  into 
execution,  have  been  so  luminously  stated  by  the  gentleman 
who  so  ably  fills  the  chair,  that  I  reckon  it  unnecessary  to  add  a 
single  word  upon  that  part  of  the  subject.  The  idea  of  this  in- 
stitution reflects  the  purest  honour  on  the  individuals  with  whom 
it  originated,  and  adds,  in  my  humble  opinion,  greatly  to  the 
character  of  our  city  for  public  spirit  and  enlightened  philan- 
thropy. Edinburgh,  which  used  to  be  contented  with  the  name 
of  the  Gude  Toicn,  has  of  late  years  been  saluted  with  the  flat- 
tering title  of  the  Mudtm  Jltliens.  Without  stopping  to  inquire 
if  there  has  been  a  general  acquiescence  in  the  imposing  of  this 
title,  or  if  it  is  likely  that  our  city  shall  be  known  to  posterity  by 
it,  1  hope,  Sir,  that  you  will  agree  with  me  when  I  say,  that  she 
never  presented  a  fairer  and  more  attractive  claim  to  this  appel- 
lation tiian  she  does  this  day,  when  her  daughters  are  assembled 
in  such  numbers  to  express  their  sympathy  witli  tiie  Greek  na- 
tion, to  pour  the  only  salutary  balm  into  the  still  bleeding  wounds 
of  that  long  oppressed  people,  and  to  help  them  to  the  means  by 


392  APPENDIX. 

which  they  may  gradually  attain  their  former  distinction  in 
knowledge  and  refinement,  and  even  surpass,  in  point  of  extent 
at  least,  any  thing  which  Greece  had  reached  when  her  illumi- 
nation was  at  its  meridian  :  for,  Sir,  however  great  my  admiration 
of  the  august  institutions  and  never-dying,  though  at  present 
faded  glories  of  that  country,  I  must  be  allowed  to  say,  that  an-= 
cient  Athens  herself  never  presented  a  spectacle  of  the  same 
interesting  kind  as  this  assembly,  in  whicli  the  flower  of  the 
female  population  of  a  great  city  is  collected,  in  order  that  the 
expressed  fragrance  of  its  benevolent  feeling  may  be  wafted  to  a 
distant  land;  and  all  this  done  without  sacrificing  the  smallest 
particle  of  that  modesty  and  reserve  which  is  characteristic  of 
the  sex.  It  is  well  known  that  the  female  character  was  de- 
pressed  among  all  the  nations  of  antiquity,  the  free  as  well  as  the 
enslaved,  the  civilized  as  well  as  the  barbarous.  In  this  respect, 
the  freest  of  them  was  but  half  free,  and  the  most  civilized  but 
half  civilized.  If  you  ask  the  cause  of  this,  I  reply — the  exclu- 
sion of  the  better  half  from  the  means  of  acquiring  knowledge. 
If  you  ask,  again,  what  was  the  reason  of  this,  I  have  to  answer 
— the  ignorance  among  heathen  nations,  and  the  oblivion,  during 
the  dark  ages  among  Christian  nations,  of  that  original  law  of 
nature,  republished  by  the  author  of  Christianity — that  God  made 
the  sexes  one  in  the  participation  of  his  image,  the  first  feature 
of  which  consists  in  knov/ledge.  To  assist  in  remedyino-  this 
defect,  is  one  main  object  of  the  proposed  society.  You  must 
have  observed,  Sir,  that  when  first  announced,  it  was  described 
as  a  society  for  educating  females  in  Greece.  On  its  being  rep- 
resented, however,  tliat  tliis  restriction  would  cramp  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Society,  and  narrow  the  sphere  of  its  usefulness,  the 
ladies  who  have  taken  an  active  part  in  calling  this  meeting,  with 
a  deference  to  advice,  which  is  honourable  to  tliem,  Jiave  agreed 
to  include  persons  of  both  sexes  among  the  objects  of  their  be- 
nevolent scheme.  At  the  same  time  they  have  not  abandoned, 
and  I  do  not  wish  that  they  should  abandon,  the  idea  of  applyintr 
their  resources  chiefly  to  the  instructing  of  females,  so  far  as  this 
may  be  found  practical.  I  cannot  help  repealing  what  was  said 
by  one  of  them  to  myself,  when  urging  the  objection  I  had  heard 
stated  against  the  original  limitation:  "We  are  afraid  lest,  ac- 
cording to  the  maxims  prevalent  in  that  part  of  the  world,  all  our 
funds  be  appropriated  to  the  education  of  males,  and  our  sex  be 
passed  over  and  left  in  that  state  of  exclusion  from  knowledo-eto 
which  they  have  so  long  been  doomed."  Sir,  I  applaud  the 
feeling  which  dictated  this  saying,  and  fondly  do  I  hope  and 
trust  that,  when  the  intelligence  of  the  formation  of  this  Society 
reaches  Greece,  it  will  awaken  in  the  breasts  of  the  females 
there,  a  desire  to  participate  in  that  blessing  which  has  exalted 
their  sex  here,  and  enabled  them  to  conceive  a  plan  of  such  en- 
Jightened  generosity :  and,  nioreover,  that  it  will  induce  the  men 
of  Greece  to  lay  aside  their  narrow  and  exclusive  notions,  and 
invite  their  partners  and  sisters  to  come  and  drink  along  with 
them  at  the  common  vvell-head  of  knowledge  and  of  life.  The 
most  praiseworthy  institutions,  and  the  best  concerted  schemes, 
are  obnoxious  to  censure,  from  those  who  may  be  inclined  to 
start  objections.     One  of  these  is,  I  suppose,  coached  under  a 


SPEECH  AT  GREEK  MEETING 1825,  393 

question  proposed  in  reference  to  the  formation  of  the  Society : — 
'•  What  know  the  ladies  about  Greek?  '  So  then  it  seenis  that 
no  person  must  be  permitted  to  sympathize  witli  a  Greek,  or  to 
})ay  the  tribute  of  a  tear  to  the  sufferings  of  a  Greek,  or  to  stretch 
out  a  hand  to  relieve  a  Greek,  unless  he  can  give  an  affirmative 
answer  to  this  question — "  Canst  thou  speak  Greek  ?"  Ah  !  un- 
fortunate Greece  !  wretched  indeed  is  thy  condition,  if  thy  only 
hope  of  relief  depended  upon  those  who  can  best  speak  thy  lan- 
guage !  Who  are  they  ?  In  the  first  rank  are  thy  cruel  and  bar- 
barous task-masters,  the  Turks,  who,  after  having  stripped  thee 
of  thy  property,  and  subjected  thee  to  the  discipline  of  the  basti- 
nado, can  salute  thee  in  thy  own  native  accents  with  the  appel- 
lation of"  Christian  dug!  "  Next  are  thy  good  neighbours,  and 
worthy  defenders  of  thy  faith,  the  Russians,  who,  after  repeatedly 
instigating  thy  sons  to  take  arms  for  the  recovery  of  their  liber- 
ties, have  as  often  disowned  all  knowledge  of  the  attempt,  and 
denounced  it  as  damnable  rebellion.  And  lastly,  and  to  bring  up 
the  rear,  are  the  literati  of — Britain  shall  I  say?  who,  although 
their  fame  is  but  the  shadow  of  tliy  name,  have  not  (with  a  very 
few  exceptions)  been  known  to  liave  one  sympathetic  and  kin- 
dred throb  in  thy  cause,  during  the  critical  struggle  in  which 
thou  hast  been  engaged ! — Sir,  it  is  one  thing  to  be  a  Greek  in 
the  letter,  and  another  thing  to  be  a  Greek  in  the  spirit. — And  as 
there  are  males  who  are  instructed  in  the  letter,  and  in  all  the  ele- 
ments of  ancient  Greek  literature,  who  are  nevertheless  strangers 
to  the  true  spirit  which  it  breathes,  so  there  may  be  females  who 
are  animated  by  the  spirit,  although  they  are  incapable  of  reading 
its  admired  writings  in  the  original,  and  may  not  know  a  single 
character  of  its  alphabet.  Let  me.  Sir,  impart  a  secret  to  the  la- 
dies presents  However  enthusiastically  we  men,  who  take  to 
ourselves  the  name  of  karned,m<iy  speak  of  the  ravishment  which 
we  receive  from  reading  the  original  languages,  and  though  we 
may  sometimes  condescend  to  give  you  some  idea  of  this,  by  re- 
peating the  very  sounds  of  that  deep-mouthed  thunder  which 
anciently  fulmined  over  Greece,  yet  the  sober  truth  is.  Ladies, 
that  by  far  the  greater  part  of  us  never  understand  the  Iliad  and 
the  Odyssey  better,  nor  relish  their  beauties  more,  than  when  we 
liear  them  read  by  you  from  the  pages  of  Pope  or  of  Cowper.  I 
do  not  wish  to  disparage  (and  I  do  not  think  1  shall  be  suspected 
of  disparaging)  the  study  of  the  classics:  it  is  useful  for  man}' 
purposes,  besides  thatof  unlocking  the  treasures  of  ancient  know- 
ledge. In  particular,  I  rejoice  to  think  that  more  attention  has 
of  late  been  paid  to  the  Greek  language  in  Scotland;  but  I  would 
not  purchase  the  reputation  of  being  the  first  scholar  in  Europe, 
at  the  expense  of  fostering  the  false  idea,  that  those  who  are  ig- 
norant of  that  language,  are  thereby  necessarily  excluded  from 
perceiving  and  feeling  the  beauties  of  its  writers,  whether  in 
prose  or  in  poetry.  But  the  objects  which  you  propose  by  your 
Society  are  "  impracticable  and  romantic."  That  any  person 
who  listened  to  the  statement  from  tlie  Chair  will  pronounce 
them  impracticable,  I  can  scarcely  believe.  With  respect  to  the 
charge  of  their  being  romantic,  the  Greeks  are  a  romantic  people, 
and  the  struggle  which  they  have  lately  maintained  is  more  than 
romantic.     Why,  Sir,  wc  live  in  an  age  of  romances.     We  have 


394  APPENDIX. 

often  heard  of  the  romantic  situation  of  our  city;  and  if  it  should 
have  inspired  our  ladies  with  romantic  ideas,  the  gentlemen  who 
have  talked  so  much  on  this  topic  may  surely  excuse  them.    Wt> 
have  got  our  streets  and  halls  illuminated  with  romantic  (or  what 
would  some  time  ago  have  been  termed  necromantic)  lamps.    We 
are  wafted  over  the  waters  in  romantic  boats  williout  either  sail 
or  oars;  and  we  have  the  prospect  of  being  conveyed  over  land 
in  romantic   carriages,  without  either  driver  or  drawer. — But, 
seriously,  can  any  person  urge  this  objection,  who  knows  what 
is  doing,  and  has  been  done,  in  the  cause  of  education  ^     There 
are  schools  planned  by  British  benevolence,  and  supported  by 
British  funds,  which  are  at  present  established  in  the  most  dis- 
tant and  inhospitable  parts  of  the  globe — in  the  islands  of  the 
South  Sea,  in  Australia,  in  Hindostan,  on  the  glaciers  of  Iceland, 
on  the  ridges  of  the  Caucasus,  and  in  the  wilds  of  Caffraria — "in 
the  lions'  dens,  and  on  the  mountains  of  leopards  !"     And  after 
this,  shall  it  be  scouted  as  a  visionary  and  romantic  undertaking, 
to  establish  similar  institutions  in  the  fair  and  inviting  bosom  of 
the  Archipelago,  which  is  comparatively  at  our  door?     Before  I 
sit  down,  will  the  meeting  permit  me  to  say  a  single  word  on  the 
present  aspect  of  the  general  cause  of  Greece?     (^^pplause.)     I 
regard  the  Society,  which  we  are  met  to  form,  as  a  scion  sprung 
from  the  interest  which  the  public  has  taken  in  that  cause,  and 
which  is  now  to  be  grafted  on  the  native  stock  of  British  female 
benevolence.     That  interest  is  no  burst  of  transient  enthusiasm. 
— It  is  deeply  seated  in  the  public  mind.     It  is  to  this  feeling, 
more  than  to  the  balancing  of  political  interests,  or  to  the  jealousy 
with  which  nations  may   view  the  attempts  of  a  rival  already 
become  too  powerful,  that  I  trust  for  the  averting  of  the  danger 
(dreaded  by  per.sons  more  politically  wise  than  I  pfetend  to  be) 
to  the  nascent  liberties  of  Modern  Greece,  from  tiie   ambitious 
projects  of  a  certain  northern  Power.     True  it  is.  Sir,  that  that 
Power  dismembered  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Poland,  and,  retain- 
ing the  body  to  itself,  threw  the  mangled  limbs  to  the  Prussian 
eagle  and  the  Austrian  vulture.     It  delivered  Norway  into  the 
hands  of  a  republican  renegade,  and  more  lately  it  stood  grinning 
delight  over  the  murdered  liberties  of  Naples  and  of  Spain.   These 
things  it  did,  and  the  friends  of  freedom  were  silent.     But  let  it 
venture  to  plant  its  foul  paw  on  the  sacred  breast  of  Greece,  and 
Liberty,  who  watches  over  that  country  for  which  she  has  now 
suffered  the  pangs  of  travail  a  second  time,  will  utter  a  shriek 
more  piercing  than  that  which  she  gave  when  Kosciusko  fell, 
which,  reverberated  from  the  breasts  of  every  free  man,  and  of 
every  free  woman,  will  astound  the  monster's  ear,  and  drive  him 
appalled  into  his  native  fens. — Despair  not  of  the  cause  of  Greece. 
Despondency  as  to  the  issue  of  the  present  struggle  would  para- 
lyze every  e.xertion  for  promoting  her  internal  improvement.   To 
what  purpose,  it  would  be  said,  establish  schools  which  must  be 
Bwept  away  on  the  successful  return  of  the  barbarous  invader,  or 
which  would  be  an   object  of  deadly  jealousy  to  a  despotical 
usurper,  whose  dread  of  knowledge  is  in  proportion  to  his  hatred 
of  liberty  .'     But  I  have  no  fear  on  this  head.     I  would  not  have 
any  friend  of  this  sacred  cause  to  cherish  the  least  doubt  on  that 
subject,  or  to  talk  of  it  in  a  doubtful  strain.     Let  our  language 


PETITION  AGAINST  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CLAIMS.     395 

be,  "Greece  must  he  free  !"  And, Sir,  she  is  free. — The  contest 
isalready  decided — the  battle  is  o'er — the  confused  noise  of  the 
■warrior  is  hushed — the  daughters  of  Greece  are  gone  forth  to 
wash  the  blood-stained  garments  of  their  sons  and  brothers  in  the 
vale  of  Tempe  and  at  the  springs  of  Helicon.  And  they  will 
welcome  their  sisters  of  Britain,  who  come  to  testify  their  sym- 
pathy with  them,  and  to  assist  them  in  repairing  the  old  wastes 
— the  desolation  of  many  generations. 


No.  VI. 

PETITION  AGAINST  THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CLAIMS. 

[Page  273.] 

To  the  Honourable  the  Commons  of  the  United  Kingdom  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  in  Parliament  assembled,  the  hum- 
ble Petition  of  the  undersigned  Inhabitants  of  Edinburgh; 

Showeth, — That  your  Petitioners  have  recently  seen,  with 
surprise  and  deep  concern,  that  a  Bill  is  to  be  brought  into  Par- 
liament, by  his  Majesty's  Ministers,  to  repeal  the  Laws  by  which 
Roman  Catholics  are  excluded  from  the  Legislature,  and  from 
places  of  power  in  the  E.xecutive  Government  of  these  Realms. 

That  though  the  claims  of  tiie  Roman  Catholics  have,  for  a, 
considerable  time  past,  been  repeatedly  brought  forward,  and 
made  the  subject  of  discussion  in  Parliament,  your  Petitioners, 
relying  on  the  wise  and  enlightened  resistance  which  has  all 
along  been  made  to  them  in  both  Houses,  have  hitherto  remained 
silent;  but  now,  when  measures,  having  it  for  their  object  to 
concede  these  claims,  are  about  to  be  proposed  by  persons  who 
were,  till  lately,  among  their  most  strenuous  opponents,  and  when 
there  is  reason  to  apprehend  that  they  are  to  receive  the  united 
support  of  his  Majesty's  Ministers,  your  Petitioners  feel  them- 
selves imperiously  called  upon  to  express  their  sentiments,  lest 
their  silence  should  be  construed  into  acquiescence  in  a  project 
replete  with  danger  to  the  best  interests  of  the  country,  civil  and 
religious — to  its  Protestant  institutions,  and  tiie  Constitutional 
principles  of  its  Monarchy. 

That  your  Petitioners  are  warmly  attached  to  freedom  of  con- 
science, and  have  no  desire  to  monopolize  it.  They  feel  not  the 
sligiitest  wish  to  deprive  Roman  Catholics  of  the  full  libertj'  which 
they  already  enjoy  of  practising  the  rites  of  their  worship,  and 
conducting  their  private  affairs,  without  molestation  or  disturb- 
ance ;  but  while  these  are  the  opinions  and  feelings  of  your 
Petitioners,  they  are  at  the  same  time  decidedly  of  opinion,  that 
the  genius  and  complex  system  of  Popery,  and  the  dominant  and 
encroaching  spirit  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  not  only  are  contrary 
to  the  Word  of  God,  and  fraught  with  superstition  and  idolatry, 
but  are  such,  in  themselves,  and  in  the  unequivocal  manifesta- 
tions which  have  been  so  often  given  of  tiicir  tendencicsj  as  to 


396  APPENDIX. 

render  it  unsafe  to  intrust  the  adherents  of  that  superstition  with 
political  power  in  this  country;  and,  in  particular,  that  their  di- 
vided allegiance — their  subjection  to  a  foreign  dominion,  which 
has  arrogated,  exercised,  and  never  renounced  a  universal  au- 
thority, affecting,  indirectly  at  least,  the  temporal  and  civil  inte- 
rests of  men — their  implicit  devotion  to  a  Ciiurch  claiming  infal- 
libility and  exclusive  salvation — and  the  notorious  subserviency 
which  they  are  under  to  their  spiritual  guides,  utterly  incapacitate 
them  for  giving  those  securities  which  are  requisite  to  a  partici- 
pation of  Legislative  and  Executive  power  in  a  Protestant  coun- 
try, and  under  a  Government  like  that  of  Britain. 

That  your  Petitioners  beg,  humbly  but  earnestly,  to  remind 
your  Honourable  House  of  the  sacrifices  which  it  cost  this 
country,  before  her  Protestant  Constitution  could  be  established 
on  a  sure  basis — of  the  struggles  which  their  ancestors  had  to 
maintain  against  the  pretensions  and  attempts,  open  and  con- 
cealed, of  tlie  votaries  of  the  church  of  Rome — and  of  the  neces- 
sity under  which  they  found  themselves,  of  excluding  Roman 
Catholics,  first  from  the  Houses  of  Parliament,  and  afterwards 
from  the  Throne. 

That  your  Petitioners  regard  the  proposed  measure  as  incon- 
sistent with  the  principles  of  the  Revolution,  in  virtue  of  which 
the  family  of  Brunswick  was  called  to  the  Throne,  and  with  the 
relations  and  corresponding  engagements  established  between 
Sovereign  and  Subjects  at  that  period;  and  your  Petitioners  are 
convinced  that  the  contemplated  change  tends  to  the  subversion 
of  that  settlement,  inasmuch  as  tlie  principles  assumed,  and  the 
reasons  urged,  in  vindication  of  the  proposed  repeal  of  the  laws 
excluding  Roman  Catholics  from  Parliament,  may  be  advanced 
and  urged  with  equal  or  greater  force  in  behalf  of  a  measure  for 
repealing  the  laws  which  prevent  their  succession  to  the  Crown 
— and  inasmuch  as  it  Vv^ill  affect  a  most  important  alteration  on 
the  state  of  the  Monarchy,  and  place  the  reigning  Sovereign  in 
a  situation  at  once  painful  and  perilous,  by  admitting  to  the  other 
two  branches  of  the  Legislature,  and  to  the  Cabinet,  persons 
whose  principles  are  hostile  to  that  Religion  which  he  is  bound 
to  profess,  and  dangerous  to  those  Establishments  which  he  has 
sworn  to  support. 

That  your  Petitioners  cannot  help  being  of  opinion,  that  the 
honour,  as  well  as  the  permanent  peace  of  the  country,  has  been 
compromised  by  the  announcement  of  the  proposed  measure,  on 
tlie  part  of  his  Majesty's  Ministers,  at  a  time  when  a  Roman 
Catholic  Association  had  placed  itself  in  an  attitude  of  intimi- 
dation— a  blot  which  we  are  afraid  has  not  been  wiped  off  by  the 
passing  of  a  law  for  putting  down  that  Association,  after  it  had 
dissolved  itself,  under  the  idea  that  it  had  achieved  the  object  of 
its  formation. 

That  while  your  Petitioners  are  not  indifferent  to  the  agitation 
into  which  Ireland  has  lately  been  thrown,  and  the  difficulties 
which  the  Government  may  experience  in  devising  an  effectual 
method  of  allaying  the  ferment,  they  must,  at  the  same  time,  be 
of  opinion,  that  both  the  danger  and  the  difficulties  have  been 
exaggerated,  and  that,  so  far  as  they  do  exist,  they  exhibit,  in  a 
palpable  manner,  the  evils  to  be  dreaded  from  the  measure  in 


PETITION  AGAINST  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CLAIMS,    397 

contemplation;  but  at  all  events,  your  Petitioners  cannot  admit 
that  considerations  of  expediency,  and  motives  addressed  to  their 
fears,  or  even  their  love  of  peace,  should  outweigh  or  balance  the 
sacred,  indispensable,  and  paramount  demands  of  public  duty  and 
permanent  interests — of  the  duty  which  the  Legislature  owes  to 
the  People  and  to  their  own  oaths,  and  the  duty  which  the  People 
owe  to  their  God,  to  their  earthly  Sovereign,  and  to  their  posterity, 
whose  temporal  and  eternal  welfare  are  involved  in  preserving 
inviolate  those  securities  which,  by  the  kindness  of  Providence, 
they  possess  for  professing  a  pure  religion,  and  transmitting  it, 
along  with  the  blessings  of  a  free  Constitution,  to  posterity;  and 
if  any  of  the  inhabitants  of  Ireland,  shall  be  so  infatuated,  and  so 
forgetful  of  the  benefits  they  enjoy  under  a  mild  and  tolerant 
Constitution,  or  if  they  shall  suffer  themselves  to  be  so  far  misled, 
ns  to  break  out  into  acts  of  insubordination  and  rebellion,  your 
Petitioners  are  confident  that  there  is  sufficient  principle  and 
courage  in  the  nation  to  support  the  Government  in  repressing 
disorder  and  preserving  tranquillity. 

That  your  Petitioners  farther  rest  their  prayer  on  the  solemn 
compact  entered  into  and  ratified  by  the  Treaty  of  Union  between 
Scotland  and  England,  then  independent  kingdoms;  and,  as 
Scotsmen,  they  protest  against  the  proposed  repeal,  as  involving 
an  infraction  of  the  Act  of  the  Scottish  Parliament,  regulating 
the  Election  of  Peers  and  Commoners,  which  was  declared  by 
one  of  the  Articles  of  Union,  to  be  "  as  valid  as  if  it  were  a  part 
of,  and  engrossed  in,  the  Treaty;"  and  also  the  Act  of  tiie  same 
Parliament,  for  securing  the  Protestant  Religion  as  then  professed 
in  Scotland, — which  Act,  with  the  establishment  therein  con- 
tained, was  solemnly  guarantied  to  be  "  observed  in  all  time 
coming,  as  a  fundamental  and  essential  condition  of  the  said 
Treaty  of  Union,  without  any  alteration  thereof,  or  derogation 
thereto,  in  any  sort,  for  ever."  Your  Petitioners  are  most 
anxious  to  call  the  attention  of  Parliament  to  the  terms  of  this 
Act,  because,  if  it  can  ever  enter  into  the  contemplation  of  the 
Legislature  to  abrogate  or  annul,  in  any  of  its  heads  or  clauses,  a 
Statute  which  the  Parliaments,  both  of  England  and  of  Scotland, 
declared  to  be  unalterable,  your  Petitioners  cannot  conceive  how 
the  Nation  can  repose  confidence  in  any  securities  which  Acts 
of  Parliament  can  provide  for  the  permanence  of  the  Protestant 
Constitution.  The  Act  now  referred  to  "  doth  establish  and 
confirm  the  said  true  Protestant  Religion,  and  the  Worship, 
Discipline,  and  Government  of  this  Church,  to  continue  v/ithout 
any  alteration  to  the  people  of  this  land,  in  all  succeeding  gene- 
rations, in  prosecution  of  the  Declaration  of  the  Estates  of  this 
Kingdom,  containing  the  Claim  of  Right."  The  same  "Act  for 
securing  the  Protestant  Religion"  provides,  that  all  successors 
to  the  throne  of  Great  Britain,  shall,  in  all  time  coming,  "  Swear 
and  subscribe,  that  they  shall  inviolably  maintain  and  preserve 
the  foresaid  settlement  of  the  true  Protestant  Religion,  as  above 
established  by  the  laws  of  this  Kingdom,  in  prosecution  of  the 
Claim  of  Right;  and  your  Petitioners  entreat  your  Honourable 
House  to  remember,  that  the  first  Article  in  the  Declaration  or 
('laim  of  Right,  thus  repeatedly  recognised  and  rc-enfbrced  in  the 
Treaty  of  Union,  as  well  as  in  the  oath  of  cverv  sovereign  of 
34 


398  APPENDIX. 

Britain,  at  his  or  her  accession  to  the  throne,  is  expressed  in  these 
words; — "  That,  by  the  Law  of  this  Kingdom,  no  Papist  can  be 
King  or  Queen  of  this  Realm,  nor  bear  any  office  whatsoever 
therein." 

Your  Petitioners,  therefore,  earnestly  entreat  your  Honourable 
House  not  to  consent  to  any  measure  which  has  for  its  object 
to  admit  Roman  Catholics  to  Seats  in  Parliament,  or  to  any 
offices  beyond  those  which  they  at  present  hold;  and  your 
Petitioners  shall  ever  pray,  &c. 


No.  VIL 
CHARACTER  OF  THE  LATE  DR.  THOMSON. 

DuniNG  the  excitement  caused  by  the  sudden  death  of  a  public 
man,  cut  down  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  in  the  middle  of  a  career 
of  extensive  usefulness,  it  is  easy  to  pronounce  a  panegyric,  but 
difficult  to  delineate  a  character  which  shall  be  free  from  the 
exaggeration  of  existing  feeling,  and  recommend  itself  to  the 
unbiassed  judgment  of  cool  reflection.  Rarely  has  such  a  deep 
sensation  been  produced  as  by  the  recent  removal  of  Dr.  Thom- 
son; but  in  a  few  instances,  we  are  persuaded,  has  there  been 
less  reason,  on  the  ground  of  temporary  excitation,  for  making 
abatements  from  the  regret  and  lamentation  so  loudly  and  un- 
equivocally expressed.  He  was  so  well  known,  bis  character 
and  talents  were  so  strongly  marked,  and  so  much  of  that  de- 
scription which  all  classes  of  men  can  appreciate,  that  the  circum- 
stances of  his  death  did  not  create  the  interest,  but  only  gave 
expression  to  that  which  already  existed  in  the  public  mind. 

Those  who  saw  Dr.  Thomson  once,  knew  him;  intimacy  gave 
them  a  deeper  insight  into  his  character,  but  furnished  no  grounds 
for  altering  the  opinion  wliich  they  had  at  first  been  led  to  form. 
Simplicity,  which  is  an  essential  element  in  all  minds  of  superior 
mould,  marked  his  appearance,  his  reasoning,  his  eloquence,  and 
his  whole  conduct.  All  that  he  said  or  did  was  direct,  straight- 
forward, and  unaffected;  there  was  no  labonring  for  effect,  no 
paltering  in  a  double  sense.  His  talents  were  such  as  would 
have  raised  liim  to  eminence  in  any  profession  or  public  walk  of 
life  wiiicli  he  might  have  chosen — a  vigorous  understanding,  an 
active  and  ardent  mind,  with  powers  of  close  and  persevering 
application  He  made  himself  master,  in  a  short  time,  of  any 
subject  to  which  lie  found  it  necessary  to  direct  his  attention — 
had  ail  his  knowledge  at  the  most  perfect  command — expressed 
himself  with  the  utmost  perspicuity,  ease,  and  energy — and, 
when  roused  by  tlie  greatness  of  his  subject,  or  by  the  nature  of 
the  opposition  which  he  encountered,  his  bold  and  masterly 
eloquence  produced  an  effect,  especially  in  a  popular  assembly, 
far  beyond  that  which  depends  on  the  sallies  of  imagination,  or 
the  dazzling  brilliancy  of  fancy-work.  Nor  was  he  less  dis- 
tinguished for  his  moral  qualities,  among  which  shone  conspicu- 
ously an  honest,  firm,  unflinching,  fearless  independence  of 
mind,  whicli  prompted  him  uniforndy  to  adopt  ancl  pursue  that 


CHARACTER  OP  DR.  ANDREW  THOMSON.   399 

course  which  his  conscience  told  Iiim  was  right,  indift'erent  to 
personal  consequences,  and  regardless  of  the  frowns  and  threats 
of  the  powerful. 

Besides  the  instructions  of  his  worthy  father,  it  was  Dr. 
Thomson's  felicity  to  enjoy  the  intimate  friendship  of  the  vene- 
rable Sir  Henry  MoncreifF,  who  early  discovered  his  rising  talents, 
and  freely  imparted  to  him  the  stores  of  his  own  vigorous  and 
matured  mind,  and  of  an  experience  which  he  had  acquired 
during  the  long  period  in  which  he  was  at  the  head  of  one  of  the 
parties  in  the  National  Church.  Though  Dr.  Thomson  was 
known  as  a  popular  and  able  preacher  from  the  time  he  first 
entered  on  the  ministry,  the  powers  of  his  mind  were  not  fully 
called  forth  and  developed  until  his  appointment  to  St.  George's. 
He  entered  to  that  charge  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  importance 
of  the  station,  as  one  of  the  largest  and  genteelest  parishes  of  the 
metropolis,  and  not  without  the  knowledge  that  there  was,  in 
the  minds  of  a  part  of  those  among  whom  he  was  called  to 
labour,  a  prepossession  against  the  peculiar  doctrines  which  had 
always  held  a  prominent  place  in  his  public  ministrations.  But 
he  had  not  long  occupied  that  pulpit,  when,  in  spite  of  the  delicate 
situation  in  which  he  was  placed  by  more  than  one  public  event, 
which  forced  him  to  give  a  practical  testimony  in  favour  of  the 
purity  of  the  Presbyterian  worship  and  the  independence  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  displeasing  to  many  in  high  places,  he  dis- 
appointed those  who  had  foreboded  his  ill  success,  and  verified 
the  expectations  of  such  of  his  friends  as  had  the  greatest  confi- 
dence in  his  talents.  By  the  ability  and  eloquence  of  his  dis- 
courses, by  the  assiduity  and  prudence  of  his  more  private 
ministrations,  and  by  the  affectionate  solicitude  which  he  evinced 
for  the  spiritual  interests  of  those  committed  to  his  care,  he  not 
only  dissipated  every  unfavourable  impression,  but  seated  him- 
self so  firmly  in  the  hearts  of  his  people,  that,  long  before  his 
lamented  death,  no  clergyman  in  this  city,  established  or  dis- 
senting, was  more  cordially  revered  and  beloved  by  his  congre- 
gation. Nothing  endeared  him  to  them  so  much  and  so  de- 
servedly as  the  attention  he  paid  to  the  young  and  the  sick;  and 
of  the  happy  art  which  he  possessed  of  communicating  instruction 
to  the  former,  and  administering  advice  and  consolation  to  the 
latter,  there  are  many  pleasing,  and,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  lasting 
memorials. 

Dr.  Thomson  was  decidedly  evangelical  in  his  doctrinal  senti- 
ments, which  he  did  not  disguise  or  hold  back  in  his  public  dis- 
courses; but  he  was  a  practical  preacher,  and  instead  of  indulging 
in  abstruse  speculations  or  philosophical  disquisitions,  made  it 
his  grand  aim  to  impress  the  truths  of  the  Gospel  on  the  hearts 
of  his  hearers.  Attached  to  the  Church  of  Scotland  from  prin- 
ciple, not  from  convenience  or  accident,  he  made  no  pretensions 
to  that  indiscriminating  and  spurious  liberty  which  puts  all 
forms  of  ecclesiastical  polity  and  communion  on  a  level;  but  in 
his  sentiments  and  feelings  he  was  liberal  in  the  truest  sense  of 
that  word — could  distinguish  between  a  spirit  of  sectarianism  and 
conscientious  secession — never  assumed  the  airs  of  a  Churchman 
in  his  intercourse  with  Dissenters — co-operated  with  them  in 
every  good  work,-ind  cherished  a  respect  for  all  faithful  ministers, 


400  APPENDIX, 

which  was  founded  not  only  on  the  principles  of  toleration  and 
good-will,  but  on  the  conviction  that  their  labours  were  useful 
in  supplying  the  lack  of  service  on  the  part  of  his  own  Church, 
and  in  counteracting  those  abuses  in  her  administration,  which 
he  never  scrupled,  on  any  proper  occasion,  to  confess  and  deplore. 

It  is  well  known  that  Dr.  Thomson  belonged  to  that  party  in 
the  Church  of  Scotland  which  has  defended  the  rights  of  the 
people  in  opposition  to  the  rigorous  enforcement  of  the  law  of 
patronage;  and  in  advocating  this  cause  in  the  Church  Courts, 
he  has  for  many  years  displayed  his  unrivalled  talents  as  a 
public  speaker,  sustained  by  an  intrepidity  which  was  unawed 
by  power,  and  a  fortitude  which  was  proof  against  overwhelming 
majorities.  Of  late  years  he  has  devoted  a  great  portion  of  his 
labours  to  the  defence  of  the  pure  circulation  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  to  the  emancipation  of  the  degraded  negroes  in  the  West 
Indies;  and  in  both  causes  he  has  displayed  his  characteristic 
ability,  zeal  for  truth,  and  uncompromising  and  indignant  repro- 
bation of  every  species  of  dishonesty,  injustice,  and  oppression. 
His  exertions  in  behalf  of  the  doctrines  and  standards  of  the 
Church,  against  some  recent  heresies  and  delusions,  afford  an 
additional  proof,  not  only  of  his  unwearied  zeal  in  behalf  of  that 
sacred  cause  to  which  he  devoted  all  his  energies,  but  of  his 
readiness,  at  all  times,  to  "  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  which 
was  once  delivered  to  the  saints." 

Great  as  Dr.  Thomson's  popularity  was  (and  few  men  in  hia 
sphere  of  life  ever  rose  so  high  in  popular  favour,)  he  did  not 
incur  the  wo  denounced  against  those  "  of  whom  all  men  speak 
well."  He  had  his  detractors  and  enemies,  who  wailed  for  his 
halting,  and  were  prepared  to  magnify  and  blazon  his  faults.  Of 
him  it  may  be  said,  as  of  another  Christian  patriot,  no  man  ever 
loved  or  hated  him  moderately.  This  was  the  inevitable  con- 
sequence of  his  great  talents,  and  the  rough  contests  in  vrhich 
he  was  involved.  His  generous  spirit  raised  him  above  envy 
and  every  jealous  feeling,  but  it  made  him  less  tolerant  of  those 
who  displayed  these  mean  vices.  When  convinced  of  the  just- 
ness of  a  cause,  and  satisfied  of  its  magnitude,  he  threw  his 
whole  soul  into  it,  summoned  all  his  powers  to  its  defence,  and 
assailed  its  adversaries,  not  only  with  strong  arguments,  but 
with  sharp,  pointed,  and  sometimes  poignant  sarcasm;  but  unless 
he  perceived  insincerity  or  perverseness,  his  own  feelings  were 
too  acute  and  just  to  permit  him  gratuitously  to  wound  those  of 
others.  That  his  zeal  was  always  reined  by  prudence — that  his 
ardour  of  mind  never  hurried  him  to  precipitate  conclusions,  or 
led  him  to  magnify  the  subject  in  debate — that  his  mind  was 
never  warped  by  party  feeling — and  that  he  never  indulged  the 
love  of  victory,  or  sought  to  humble  a  teazing  or  pragmatic 
enemy — are  positions  which  his  true  friends  will  not  maintain. 
But  his  ablest  opponents  will  admit,  that  in  all  the  great  questions 
in  which  he  distinguished  himself,  he  acted  conscientiously — 
that  he  was  an  open,  manly,  and  honourable  adversary — and 
that,  though  he  was  sometimes  unseasonably  vehement,  he  was 
never  disingenuous.  Dr.  Thomson  was  constitutionally  a  re- 
former; he  felt  a  strong  sympathy  with  those  great  men  who,  in 
a  former  age,  won  renown,  by  assailing  the  hydra  of  error,  and 


CIlAnACTER  OF  DR.   ANDREW  THOMSON.        401 

cf  civil  and  religious  tyranny;  and  his  character  partook  of  theirs, 
In  particular,  he  bore  no  inconsiderable  resemblance  to  Luther, 
both  in  excellencies  and  defects;  his  leonine  nobleness  and 
potency,  his  masculine  eloquence,  his  facetiousness  and  plea- 
santry, the  fondness  which  he  showed  for  the  fascinating  charms 
of  music,  and  the  irritability  and  vehemence  which  he  occasion- 
ally displayed,  to  which  some  will  add,  the  necessity  which  this 
imposed  on  him  to  make  retractations,  which,  while  they  threw 
a  partial  shade  over  his  fame,  taught  his  admirers  the  needful 
lesson,  that  he  was  a  man  subject  to  like  passions  and  infirmities 
with  others.  But  the  fact  is,  though  hitherto  known  to  few,  and 
the  time  is  now  come  for  revealing  it,  that  some  of  those  effusions 
which  were  most  objectionable,  and  exposed  him  to  the  greatest 
obloquy,  were  neither  composed  by  Dr.  Thomson,  nor  seen  by 
him  until  they  were  published  to  the  world;  and  that  in  one 
instance,  which  has  been  the  cause  of  the  most  unsparing  abuse, 
he  paid  the  expenses  of  a  prosecution,  and  submitted  to  make  a 
public  apology,  for  an  offence  of  which  he  was  innocent  as  the 
child  unborn,  rather  than  give  up  the  name  of  the  friend  who 
was  morally  responsible  for  the  deed, — an  example  of  generous 
self-devotion  vphich  has  few  parallels. 

To  his  other  talents,  Dr.  Thomson  added  a  singular  capacity 
for  business,  which  not  only  qualified  him  for  taking  an  active 
part  in  Church  Courts,  but  rendered  him  highly  useful  to  those 
public  charities  of  which  the  clergy  of  Edinburgh  are  officially 
managers,  and  to  the  different  voluntary  societies  with  which  he 
was  connected.  This  caused  unceasing  demands  on  his  time 
and  exertions,  which,  joined  to  his  other  labours,  were  sufficient 
to  wear  out  the  most  robust  constitution;  and  he  at  last  sunk 
under  their  weight. 

In  private  life.  Dr.  Thomson  was  every  thing  that  is  amiable 
and  engaging.  He  was  mild,  and  gentle,  and  cheerful — deeply 
tender  and  acutely  sensitive  in  his  strongest  affections — most 
faithful  and  true  in  hia  attachment  of  friendship — kind-hearted 
and  indulgent  to  all  with  whom  he  had  intercourse.  His  firmness 
to  principle,  when  he  thought  principle  involved,  whatsoever  of 
the  appearance  of  severity  it  may  have  presented  to  those  who 
saw  him  only  as  a  public  character,  had  no  taint  of  harshness  in 
his  private  life;  and,  unbending  as  he  certainly  was  in  principle, 
he  never  failed  to  receive  with  kindness  what  v/as  addressed  to 
iiis  reason  in  the  spirit  of  friendship.  It  may,  indeed,  be  said 
with  truth,  that  great  as  were  his  public  merits,  and  deplorable 
the  public  loss  in  his  death,  to  those  who  had  the  happiness  to 
live  with  him  in  habits  of  intimacy,  the  deepest  and  the  bitterest 
feeling  still  is,  the  separation  from  a  man  who  possessed  so  many 
of  the  finest  and  most  amiable  sensibilities  of  the  human  heart. 
In  him  the  lion  and  the  lamb  may  be  said  to  have  met  together. 
But  it  was  around  his  own  family  hearth,  and  in  the  circle  of 
his  intimate  acquaintances,  that  Dr.  Thomson  was  delightful. 
It  was  equally  natural  in  him  to  play  with  a  child,  and  to  enter 
the  lists  with  a  practised  polemic.  He  could  be  gay  without 
levity,  and  grav«  without  morosencss.  His  frank  and  bland  man- 
ners, the  equable  flow  of  his  cheerfulness  and  good  humour,  and 
the  information  which  he  possessed  .on  almost  every  subject, 

34*^ 


402  APPENDIX. 

made  his  company  to  be  courted  by  persons  of  all  classes.  He 
could  mix  with  men  of  the  world  without  comprornising  his 
principles,  or  lowering  his  character  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel; 
and  his  presence  was  enough  to  repress  any  thing  which  had  the 
semblance  of  irreligion. 

The  loss  of  sucli  a  man,  and  at  such  a  time,  is  incalculable. 
His  example  and  spirit  had  a  wholesome  and  refreshing,  an  ex- 
hilarating and  elevating,  influence  on  the  society  in  which  he 
moved;  and  even  the  agitation  which  he  produced,  when  he  was 
in  his  stormy  moods,  was  salutary,  like  the  hurricane  (his  own 
favourite  image,  and  the  last  which  he  employed  in  public,) 
purifying  the  moral  atmosphere,  and  freeing  it  from  the  selfish- 
ness, and  duplicity,  and  time-serving,  with  which  it  was  over- 
charged. 

Dr.  Thomson  was  born  in  June  1778,  and  was  ordained  in  the 
year  1802.  He  has  left  a  widow  and  seven  children,  five  of  whom 
are  daughters. 


No.  VIII. 

SPEECH  AT  THE  MEETING  ON  EDUCATION  IN 
IRELAND,— May  11,  1832. 

Friends  and  Fellow-Citizens, — I  have  to  move  a  series  of 
Resolutions,  on  which  a  Petition,  afterwards  to  be  read  to  you, 
is  founded;  and,  before  I  say  any  thing  farther,  I  wish  to  put  you 
in  possession  of  these  Kesolutions,  by  now  reading  them.  (Here 
the  Rev.  gentleman  read  the  Resolutions,  and  then  proceeded.) 
After  the  spirit-stirring  address  whicli  you  have  heard  from  our 
chairman,*  it  would  be  improper  in  me  to  begin  by  protesting 
my  unwillingness  to  come  forward  on  the  present  occasion.  My 
protestation  is  different.  I  feel  myself  just  in  the  situation  that 
I  ought  to  occupy.  I  feel  tliat  I  breathe  a  congenial  atmosphere 
— am  surrounded  by  persons  of  whose  company,  I  trust,  I  shall 
never  be  ashamed — and  am  to  attempt  the  performance  of  a  duty 
which,  how  arduous  soever,  is  in  unison  with  my  convictions 
and  my  feelings.  I  am  not  moved  at  the  unpopularity  of  the 
measure  I  advocate.  The  truth  is,  that  I  have  been  accustomed 
all  my  life  to  be  in  a  minority,  or  to  belong  to  the  opposition. 
Ciiurchmen  have  looked  askance  upon  me,  because  1  was  not  a 
member  of  tlie  Establisimient,  and  dissenters  have  frowned  on 
me  because  I  was  friendly  to  the  Civil  Establishment  of  religion. 
In  political  sentiment  I  have  always  been  a  Whig;  and  you  all 
know  that  they  were  long  in  a  minority, — a  small,  a  discouraged, 
and  discountenanced,  almost  a  despairing  minority.  At  their 
lowest  ebb,  I  was  with  them;  not  that  I  ever  interfered  with  their 
party  politics,  fori  never  attended  a  political  meeting  in  my  life, 
but  my  sentiments  were  known  to  have  been  formed  in  that 
school.     The  Whigs  have  now  grown  into  strength,  and  been 

*  George  Ross,  Esq. 


SPEECH  ON  IRISH  EDUCATION.  403 

raised  to  power,  and  still  I  am  in  the  minority.     I  cannot  say  as 
the  poet  did  of  himself, — 

"  Papist,  or  Protestant,  or  belli  between, 
Like  good  Erasmus  in  an  lionest  mean; 
In  moderation  placing  ail  my  glory. 
While  Tories  call  me  Wliig,  and  Wliigs  a  Tory." 

Nor,  on  the  other  hand,  can  I  charge  myself  with  an  over-fond- 
ness for  singularity;  but  whether  it  is  that  my  old  friends  have 
deserted  me,  or  that  I,  in  growing  old,  have  lagged  behind  them, 
the  fact  is  that  I  am  still  in  the  opposition.  1  merely  allude  to 
the  fact  as  accounting  for  my  comparative  indifference  to  the 
unpopularity  of  our  proceedings,  and  to  the  pompous  array  of 
names  so  ostentatiously  displayed  against  us.  Truth,  my 
friends,  does  not  depend  on  numbers.  So  long  as  she  is  sur- 
rounded by  two  or  three,  her  banner  shall  be  upheld  and  unfurled. 
Her  votes  are  not  numbered,  but  weighed.  Her  voice  is  seldom 
heard  in  the  crowd,  or  amid  the  shouts  of  applause,  raised  by  lip- 
staff  prompters,  and  caught  and  re-echoed  by  the  believing  mul- 
titude, within  or  without  hearing.  Truth  is  not  like  the  aristo- 
cratic coxcomb  of  the  barn-yard,  rearing  her  gaudy  crest,  spread- 
ing her  gorgeous  wings,  and  displaying  her  thousand  moons 
with  her  satellites,  as  if  she  could,  by  her  tail,  draw  after  her 
a  third  part  of  the  stars;  but,  like  heaven's  bird,  she  makes  her 
noiseless  way  through  her  native  element,  to  bathe  her  eyes  in 
the  solar  beam,  heedless  alike  of  the  gaze  she  attracts,  and  of  the 
hissing  and  cackling  of  those  who,  far  below,  hail  her  departure. 
We  live  in  times  that  try  men's  souls.  The  question  now  is, 
Principle  or  expediency? — the  pleasing  of  God  or  the  pleasing  of 
men?  and  the  demands  of  the  latter  are  no  less  high  and  un- 
bounded than  those  of  the  former.  Their  cry  is,  every  thing  or 
nothing.  It  matters  not  that  you  go  with  us  999  paces,  provided 
you  take  not  the  1000th.  It  is  true  you  have  supported  us  in 
all  our  measures;  but  if  you  dissent  from  us  in  this  one,  we  will 
hold  you  as  our  declared  foe,  put  you  under  our  ban,  and,  throw- 
ing over  you  the  wolf's  skin,  will  hunt  you  down  as  an  ultra- 
Tory,  a  placeman,  a  pensioner,  a  bigot,  and  in. one  word,  a  hy- 
pocrite. These  are  generally  ruses  de  guerre,  but  they  are  bad 
as  well  as  poor  policy,  because  they  are  soon  discovered,  and 
because  they  kindle  the  indignation  of  men  of  honest  and  inde- 
pendent minds,  who  have  an  instinctive  and  irrepressible  abhor- 
rence of  every  thing  that  wears  the  semblance  of  intolerance, 
especially  when  it  proceeds  from  the  party  to  which  they  are 
otherwise  attached.  For  my  own  part,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
manifestation  of  a  spirit  of  this  kind,  I  should  not  have  been  now 
addressing  you.  Having  heard  of  the  proposal  to  call  this 
meeting,  I  made  it  my  business  to  inquire  into  its  objects,  and 
was  satisfied  that  the  gentlemen  with  whom  it  originated  were 
single-hearted  in  their  aim,  and  had  nothing  else  in  view  than 
what  they  professed.  This  I  endeavoured  to  impress  on  the 
minds  of  such  of  their  opponents  as  I  had  the  opportunity  of 
conversing  with,  but  with  little  success.  No  sooner  was  the 
intention  of  meeting  announced,  than  a  cry  was  raised,  the  Tories 
are  up,  the  bigots  are  moving,  they  are  creeping  out  of  their 
holes,  they  are  going  to  meet  in  public;  they  will  turn  out  the 


404  APPENDIX, 

ministry,  and  take  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Peers  the  work  of 
strangling  the  Reform  Bill.  fAfler  adverting  to  the  attempts 
which  had  been  made  to  discredit  the  present  meeting,  and  thi; 
proposals  made  for  interrupting  it,  the  Rev.  Doctor  continued.) 
Those  who  are  opposed  to  us  in  opinion  have  called  a  meeting 
of  their  own,  and  they  have  as  good  a  right  to  meet  and  express 
their  sentiments  as  we  have,  but,  I  beg  to  add,  no  better.  What 
was  the  reason  for  all  these  threats.'  Will  you  believe  it, —  we 
had  called  our  meeting  a  public  meeting.  The  fabulist  tells  us 
that  a  mountain  laboured,  and  out  came  a  ridiculous  mouse;  but 
then  it  was  a  public  mouse, — it  was  no  hole  and  corner  mouse. 
If  it  had  been  so,  the  gentlemen  would  have  stood  aloof  and 
laughed  at  it;  and  their  friends  of  the  press  would  have  furnished 
their  readers  with  a  lithographed  caricature  of  the  poor  animal 
gorged  and  distended  by  feeding  on  pensions  and  reversionary 
places.  But  it  was  a  public  mouse;  and,  therefore,  it  behooved  to 
be  hunted  down;  and  lor  this  purpose  we  must  have  a  tournament 
and  a  tilting  in  an  amphitheatre,  where  would  be  assembled  a 
galaxy  of  all  the  rank  and  talent  in  our  modern  Athens,  to  which 
all  the  aspirants  for  honour,  not  excluding  the  literary  knight- 
errant  of  the  west,  and  the  millenarian  Dissenter  as  his  second, 
might  be  invited.  With  due  deference  to  the  gentlemen  of  the 
long  robe,  who  may  have  been  consulted  upon  the  legal  import 
of  a  "public  meeting,"  1  beg  leave  to  state,  that  the  people  of 
this  free  country  have  the  liberty  to  meet  for  any  lawful  specific 
purpose;  and,  (that  notiiing  may  be  done  in  secret,)  though  they 
throw  open  tiieir  doors,  that  gives  others  no  right  to  intrude  and 
interrupt  the  business  of  those  met  in  a  house,  the  use  of  which 
they  have  purchased  with  their  money,  or  obtained  as  a  favour. 
It  may  be  thought  that  1  have  dwelt  too  long  on  this  point;  but 
it  never  can  be  a  trivial  matter  to  resist  encroachments  upon  the 
right  of  expressing  public  opinion,  especially  when  made  by  a 
popular  party  in  power.  I  have  another  reason  for  dwelling  on 
this  topic  so  particularly.  The  charge  which  1  have  been  re- 
pelling has  been  introduced  into  the  requisition  for  the  meeting 
to  be  held  on  Monday,  in  favour  of  the  Ministerial  plan.  It  is 
there  said  that  we  '^  intend  to  convey  to  the  legislature  a  fictitious 
expression  of  public  opinion  in  Edinburgh."  In  the  Jirst  place, 
How  did  they  come  to  know  our  intentions.''  Secondly,  As  to 
the  legislature,  it  can  only  reach  them  as  the  petition  of  the 
individuals  whose  names  are  subscribed.  And  as  to  people  of 
this  city,  are  we  not  charged  in  the  same  advertisement  with 
inviting  those  only  who  are  friendly  to  a  specific  purpose?  We 
all  feel  deeply  interested  in  the  fate  of  Ireland,  not  so  much  on 
the  ground  on  which  popular  declaimers  wax  so  eloquent, — that 
many  of  her  sons  filled  the  ranks  of  our  army,  and  were  led  on 
to  victory  and  death  by  the  great  Wellington, —  but  because  they 
are  our  fellow-countrymen  and  fellovv-subjects.  Between  their 
own  clergy  and  the  government  they  have  been  grievously  ill 
used  and  kept  in  ignorance.  We  should  do  every  thing  in  our 
power  to  extricate  them  from  the  situation  in  whicii  they  are, 
though  it  were  to  the  plucking  out  of  a  right  eye.  We  should 
do  all  for  them  tliat  charity  demands,  all  that  a  regard  for  the 
sacred  interests  of  truth  permits.     There  are  souje  things  we 


CHARACTER  OP  DR.  ANDREW  THOMSON.   405 

cannot  do  for  them.  (^After  adverting  to  what  had  been  done 
for  promoting  instruction  in  Ireland  by  different  Societies,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  said":)  The  Kildare  Place  Society  1  had  always  heard 
praised,  until  of  late,  that  it  has  been  carrying  on  a  low  huckster 
trade  in  printino-  books.  Such  an  assertion  might  pass  on  the 
hustings  of  the  western  metropolis  ;  it  will  not  do  in  the  modern 
Athens.  It  will  not  be  repeated  on  Monday.  My  friend  Professor 
Pillans  will  bear  testimony  to  the  excellence  of  the  Kildare  books. 
(Here  the  Doctor  read  an  extract  from  a  work  of  the  Professor's.) 
1  give  his  Majesty's  Ministers  every  credit  for  their  desire  to  pro- 
mote education  in  Ireland;  and  while  I  blame  their  plan,  I  must 
state  that  the  objectionable  part  of  it  did  not  originate  with  them, 
but  was  virtually  entailed  on  them  by  their  predecessors  in  office. 
My  great  objection  to  it  is,  tiiat  it  proceeds  upon,  and  recognises 
the  Popish  principle,  that  the  Bible  is  an  unsafe  book,  and  not  to 
be  trusted  in  the  hands  of  the  laity,  young  or  old;  and,  accord- 
ingly, a  book  of  selections  from  it,  containing  such  passages  as 
may  be  read  without  danger,  is  to  be  substituted  in  its  room  as  a 
school-book.  In  an  advertisement  of  another  meeting  on  this 
important  subject,  it  is  said  "  One  of  the  school-books  declared  to 
be  indispensable,  is  a  selection  from  the  Holy  Scriptures,  com- 
prising such  passages  as  are  best  adapted  for  the  comprehension 
of  children."  Strange  that  such  an  assertion  should  have  been 
hazarded  after  the  candid,  open,  and  manly  statement  of  the 
Secretary  for  Ireland  !  After  adverting  to  the  rule  of  the  Kildare 
Place  Society,  requiring  the  reading  the  Holy  Scriptures  without 
note  or  comment,  Mr.  Stanly  goes  on  to  say,  "  But  it  seems  to 
have  been  overlooked,  that  the  principles  of  the  Koman  Catholic 
Church  (to  which  in  any  system  intended  for  general  diffusion 
throughout  Ireland,  the  bulk  of  the  pupils  must  necessarily  be- 
long) were  totally  at  variance  with  this  principle,  and  that  the 
indiscriminate  reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  without  note  or 
comment,  by  children,  must  be  peculiarly  obnoxious  to  a  Church 
which  denies  even  to  adults  the  right  of  unaided  private  interpre- 
tation of  the  sacred  volume,  with  respect  to  articles  of  religious 
belief."  To  correct  this  vital  defect,  as  Mr.  Stanly  calls  it,  was 
the  object  of  the  new  model,  and  of  the  book  of  selections  in 
particular.  The  right — the  absolute,  the  indefeasible,  the  un- 
alienable, the  divine  right — of  all  to  read  the  Holy  Scriptures,  is 
the  grand  principle  of  the  Reformation;  it  stands  at  tJie  head  of 
that  protest  which  was  solemnly  taken  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
which  has  been  subscribed  by  all  reformers,  and  to  which  the 
Government  of  this  country  long  ago  affixed  its  Great  Seal.  It 
is  not  to  be  trifled  with.  In  comparison  with  it,  all  the  other 
points  of  contention  between  us  and  the  Church  of  Rome  are 
secondary  and  subordinate;  if  the  foundations  be  undermined  or 
unsettled,  the  whole  superstructure  of  our  faith  falls  to  the  ground. 
What  must  be  the  character  of  these  selections,  we  are  left  at  no 
loss  to  determine  from  the  declared  ground  on  which  tiicy  are 
formed.  They  must  exclude  articles  of  religious  belief  And 
what,  I  pray,  is  the  Bible  without  articles  of  religious  belief.?  It 
is  no  Bible.  I  do  not  object  to  selections  from  the  Scripture  when 
made  with  proper  views,  and  on  a  sound  principle.  But  I  say 
that  selections  made  by  a  Board  of  the  description  stated  in  the 


406  APPENDIX. 

letter  of  the  Honourable  Secretary  for  Ireland,  and  upon  the  prin- 
ciple of  its  constitution,  must  give  an  unfaithful  representation, 
and  convey  a  false  idea  <if  the  design,  and  scope,  and  essential 
character  of  the  Word  of  the  living  God.  Tliink  of  the  effect 
this  must  produce  on  the  Roman  Catholic  priests — on  the  Roman 
Catholic  youtli — on  the  mind  of  the  Protestant  youth  trained  up 
under  the  proposed  system.  Think  how  it  will  check  the  desire 
so  strongly  expressed  by  many  Roman  Catholic  parents,  in  spite  of 
their  priests,  to  have  instruction  in  school.s  where  the  Bible  is  read  ; 
and  the  thousands  of  children  now  or  lately  employed  in  reading 
it  in  the  Kildare  schools,  and  in  many  others,  will,  must,  be  with- 
drawn from  them,  and  sent  to  schools  where  it  is  removed  from 
the  public  table;  and  these  schools  established  by  Government, 
and  supported  cliiefly  by  money  drawn  from  Protestant  purses. 
I  certainly  can  have  no  suspicion  that  His  Majesty's  Government 
has  any  intention  of  depriving  the  people  of  this  country  of  the 
liberty  of  using  the  Scriptures  ;  but  I  must  say,  Obsta  principiis. 
Think  of  those  master-spirits  who,  in  an  age  of  superstition,  and 
themselves  but  lately  released  from  its  fascinating  and  soul-sub- 
duing spell,  forced  the  temple  of  darkness,  brought  forth  the 
casket  in  which  the  sacred  volume  was  incarcerated,  and  amidst 
the  execrations  of  interested  priests,  fearlessly  opened  it,  while 
the  multitude  retired  and  stood  aghast,  as  if  Pandora's  Box  was 
to  be  opened  a  second  time.  And  shall  we  do  any  thing  which 
has  the  appearance  of  laying  under  restraint  Heaven's  best  gift, 
which  our  fathers  emancipated,  or  restampjng  on  it  that  badge  of 
slavery — the  very  vestige  of  which  they  were  so  careful  to  re- 
move.'' (After  answering  some  objections  to  Bible-reading  in 
schools,  the  Doctor  proceeded.)  It  has  been  said  that  the  reve- 
rence for  the  Bible  in  Scotland  has  not  been  produced  by  its  use 
in  the  schools,  but  acquired  under  the  parental  roof;  but  I  ask,  in 
reply.  What  planted  that  reverence  under  the  parental  roof.''  and 
by  what  means  has  the  sacred  fire  been  kept  alive  and  spread  ? 
It  has  been  said  that  the  Bible  is  desecrated  by  being  used  as  a 
school-book.  So  said  the  priests  in  the  sixteenth  century — that 
it  was  desecrated  by  coming  into  the  hands  of  the  vulgar. 
This  is  a  desecration  which  the  Bible  glories  in, — for  out  of  the 
mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings  has  its  Author's  praise  been  per- 
fected, and  to  them  have  its  truths  been  revealed,  while  they 
were  hid  from  the  wise  and  prudent.  I  recur  to  the  grand  ob- 
jection which  1  feel  to  the  proposed  plan  of  Government — that 
it  proceeds  upon,  and  recognises  as  its  basis,  the  Popish  principle, 
that  the  Bible  is  an  unsafe  book,  and  ought  not  to  be  put  into 
the  hands  either  of  youth  or  adults,  unless  they  have  a  priest  at 
their  elbow,  to  prevent  them  irom  being  led  into  dangerous  error 
by  its  ambiguity,  or,  in  other  words,  to  constitute  him  lord  of 
their  faith.  To  recognise  this  principle,  or  to  give  place  to  it  even 
for  an  hour,  is  to  renounce  Protestantism;  it  is  to  yield  up  the 
liberty  of  the  human  mind;  it  is  to  plant  the  principle  of  slavery 
in  tlie  youthful  breast;  and  any  illumination  that  may  be  im- 
parted by  such  a  system  of  education  would  only  serve  to  make 
the  pupil  a  fitter  tool  for  enslaving  the  minds  of  others.  It  is 
false,  though  a  common  opinion,  that  mere  learning  emancipates 
the  mind,     Were  Pascal  and  fenelgn  illiterate  men?     Govern- 


SPEECH  ON  IRISH  EDUCATIOX.  407 

nient  should  not  have  listened  to  the  proposal  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  clergy.  They  should  have  told  them — We  are  willing' 
to  do  every  thing  to  prevent  the  youth,  belonging  to  your  com- 
munion, from  having  any  religious  exercises  imposed  on  thejn, 
which  are  repugnant  to  the  sentiments  of  their  natural  guardians; 
and  we  shall  take  care  that  they  shall  not,  on  this  ground,  be 
excluded  from  the  full  benefit  of  secular  instruction;  but  as  rulers 
of  a  Protestant  country,  as  the  friends  of  mental  liberty,  and  as 
living  in  the  nineteenth  century,  we  cannot  consent  to  withdraw 
the  Scriptures  from  the  National  schools;  and  we  could  not  hold 
up  our  faces  before  our  country  in  defence  of  such  a  plan.  You 
lie  already  under  sufficient  odium  as  enemies  to  free  inquiry; 
we  beseech  you,  as  you  regard  your  own  credit,  and  that  of  your 
church,  to  say  no  more  on  that  head.  But  why  need  we  wonder 
that  his  Majesty's  ministers  were  misled  in  an  unguarded  and 
inauspicious  hour,  when  their  friends,  after  having  leisure  for 
reflection,  should  not  only  defend  the  principle,  but  hold  it  forth 
as  the  quintessence  of  wisdom  and  liberality  ?  Hear  what  is  said 
of  it  in  the  advertisement  of  the  meeting  of  our  fellow-citizen  for 
Monday, — "  A  plan  of  education,  pregnant  with  the  greatest  good 
to  Ireland,  closely  approximating  to  the  practice  of  Scotland, 
honourable  to  our  patriotic  ministry,  and  deeply  founded  on  the 
])rinciple  of  liberty  of  conscience — the  glory  of  Protestants."  Save 
nie  from  my  friends,  and  I  will  defend  myself  from  mine  enemies  *. 
"  Liberty  of  conscience  !"  Sacred  name  !  How  often  hast  thou 
been  profaned  !  Thou  hast  been  paltered  with,  bandied  about, 
and  tossed  from  one  hand  to  another,  until  thou  hast  become  any 
thing  or  nothing — liberty  of  no-conscience  or  no  liberty  of  con- 
science! "  Glory  of  Protestants  !"  to  yield  up  the  integrity  of 
the  Word  of  God,  and  to  join  with  Papists  in  framing  an  Index 
Expurgatorius !  Is  not  this  very  like  "  glorying  in  our  shame  .'" 
O  my  country,  my  country  !  land  of  my  fathers,  whose  soil, 
mixed,  with  the  ashes,  and  moistened  witii  the  blood  of  martyrs, 
has  reared  institutions,  which,  like  trees  of  righteousness,  have 
siiielded  thy  naked  mountains  from  their  own  northern  blasts, 
and  produced  all  around  an  intellectual  and  a  moral  culture  and 
fertility,  in  comparison  of  which,  the  fields  of  Greece  and  of 
Italy,  in  their  highest  and  most  boasted  state  of  improvement, 
were  a  waste  and  howling  wilderness, — shall  I  be  ashamed  of 
thee.'  No!  But  of  thy  degenerate  and  ungrateful  sons,  I  am 
asliamed ! 

[From  the  Report  of  the  Speech  in  the  Edinburgh  Mvertiser.  May 
15,  1832.] 


40S  APPENDIX. 

No.  IX. 

SPEECH  AT  THE  MEETING  OF  THE  ANTI-PATKONAGE 
SOCIETY,— January  30,  1833. 

[Page  345.] 

Sir, — I  have  come  here  as  a  volunteer,  though  not  as  a  mem- 
ber of  tlie  Voluntary  Church  Association — and  I  cannot  introduce 
myself  better  than  seconding  the  motion  which  has  just  been 
made.  With  your  leave,  therefore,  I  shall  address  myself  to  the 
assembly.  My  friends — for  on  this  occasion  you  will  permit  me 
to  waive  the  more  courteous  phrase  of  Ladies  and  Gentlemen — 
I  would  with  pleasure  have  moved  thanks  to  your  honourable 
Chairman  at  any  meeting  which  he  should  attend,  from  the  per- 
sonal regard  I  feel  for  him,  and  the  esteem  in  which  1  hold  his 
public  character  and  principles.  But  I  am  forcibly  reminded  by 
the  transactions  of  this  day,  of  that  which  commenced  our  ac- 
quaintance ;  and  when  I  mention  it,  you  will  not  think  that  I  am 
entertaining  you  with  private  history,  or  forgetting  the  business 
for  which  you  are  met.  It  was  a  letter  which  he  addressed  to 
me  several  years  ago,  and  in  which,  after  adverting  to  the  marked 
improvement  of  the  National  Church  in  point  of  evangelical 
doctrine,  and  to  the  harmony  of  views  which  existed  between 
myself  and  another  person  for  whom  our  love  has  since,  by 
the  sovereign  disposal  of  Heaven,  been  converted  into  a  holy 
and  solemn  regret  (Dr.  Thomson,)  he  proposed  the  serious  ques- 
tion. Can  nothing  be  done  to  bring  into  closer  connexion  the 
friends  of  religion  in  the  Establishment  and  in  the  Secession  ?  I 
answered  the  letter  respectfully,  and  I  trust,  without  any  of  the 
sour  leaven  of  sectarian  jealousy,  but  with  the  characteristic 
caution  of  a  Scotsman, — taking  due  care  not  to  pledge  myself 
deeply,  and,  among  other  things,  mentioning,  that,  in  my  opinion, 
no  improvements  which  had  taken  place,  and  no  arrangements 
which  might  be  made,  would  heal  the  breach,  so  long  as  that 
yoke  which  neither  we  nor  our  fathers  were  able  to  bear,  re- 
mained on  the  neck  of  the  Christian  people  of  Scotland.  Little 
did  I  then  think  that  I  should  this  day  be  standing  on  these 
boards,  and  moving  thanks  to  my  honourable  friend  for  the 
manly,  decided,  and  truly  Christian  part  which  he  has  acted  on 
this  important  and  soon-to-be  absorbing  question.  His  reply, 
bearino-  with  the  cold,  if  not  repulsive  air  of  my  answer,  led  to 
an  acquaintance  which  I,  at  least,  have  no  ground  to  regret. 
There  is  no  reason  to*fear  that  I  shall  offend  your  chairman  by 
indulo"ing  in  panegyric,  for  there  is  one  of  his  Christian  virtues 
which  protects  all  tiie  rest  from  any  rude  exposure — his  Christian 
modesty.  I  shall  only  therefore  express  my  conviction,  that,  if 
the  Established  Church  of  Scotland  has,  in  these  trying  times, 
one  stanch  friend,  and  one  who  is  willing  to  make  sacrifices  for 
her  preservation  and  welfare,  it  is  our  honourable  friend  in  the 
chair.      I  am  sorry  that  we  are  deprived  of  the  presence  of 


SPEECH  ON  CHUKCH  PATRONAGE.  409 

another  honourable  member  elect  of  the  Legislature,  who  was 
expected  to  attend,  and  who  has  already  evinced  his  devotion  to 
the  cause  which  you  are  now  met  to  promote.  Had  he  been 
present,  I  would  have  saluted  tliem  as  -jjar  noliilc  fratrum,  and, 
with  your  concurrence,  would  have  respectfully  encouraged 
them  to  go  forward,  arm  in  arm,  under  that  panoply  of  heavenly 
proof  which  is  sufficient  to  cover  them  both,  and  all  who  may 
join  them,  in  fighting  the  good  fight,  and  quitting  themselves  as 
men  for  their  people  and  iheir  God. 

And  now.  my  friends,  I  have  done  what  I  proposed  in  rising. 
Shall  I  proceed,  or  stop  short.''  Shall  I  advert  to  the  merits  of 
the  question  which  has  brought  you  together,  or  shall  1  sit  down? 
I  was  not  a  member  of  the  Church  Patronage  Society,  and  I  am 
not  yet  a  member  of  that  which  you  this  day  instituted  out  of  it. 
Whether  I  shall  formally  join  it  or  not,  is  a  matter  of  very  small 
importance.  But  if  I  do  nut,  it  will  be  owing  merely  to  pruden- 
tial reasons,  arising  from  my  not  being  a  member  of  the  Estab- 
lishment; certainly  not  at  all  from  any  doubt  that  I  entertain  of 
its  lawfulness,  or  expediency,  or  urgency,  or  of  the  vast  and 
every-day  increasing  importance  of  the  measure  which  it  pro- 
poses to  effect.  My  decided  opinion  is,  that  a  lay  patron  is  as  fo- 
reign to  the  Church  of  Christ,  as  a  lord  bishop  is — that  he  has  as 
little  necessary  connexion  with  an  Established  Church  as  a  lord 
bishop  has  ;  and  that  the  day  is  at  hand  when  the  idea  of  an  Es- 
tablished Church  depending  on  the  patronage  of  any  lord  or  land- 
ed proprietor  whatever,  will  be  scouted,  and  looked  upon  as 
equally  antiquated  and  obsolete,  as  the  once  favourite  court  max- 
im, "  So  bishop,  no  King."  My  decided  opinion  is,  and  has  long 
been,  that  lay  patronage  is  a  usurpation  upon  the  liberties  of  the 
Church  (the  freest  kingdom  and  commonwealth  on  earth) — that 
it  is  a  relic  of  feudal  times — that,  so  far  as  it  has  a  show  of  foun- 
dation, it  rests  on  the  illegible  shred  of  a  vitiated  contract,  by 
which  priests  bartered  away  the  rights  of  the  people  to  serve 
their  own  secular  purposes, — that,  in  the  language  of  our  Second 
Book  of  Discipline,  "the  names  of  patronages  and  benefices,  to- 
gether with  the  effect  thereof,  have  flowed  from  the  Pope  and 
corruption  of  the  canon  law  only,'' — that  it  is  a  badge  of  slave- 
ry,— that  it  degrades  tlie  people  into  serfs,  so  far  as  regards  ec- 
clesiastical privileges,  and  mocks  them  with  the  name  instead  of 
the  reality  of  a  call, — that  it  unduly  restrains  Church  Courts  in 
the  exercise  of  one  of  their  most  important  duties — the  fixing  of 
the  relation  between  a  pastor  and  his  congregation, — that  it  is 
calculated  at  once  to  mar  the  usefulness  of  a  Christian  ministry, 
and  the  edification  of  a  Christian  people, — and  that  a  right 
which  is  openly  put  to  sale,  which  may  be  bought  by  a  sum  of 
money,  and  in  consequence  of  which,  any  infidel,  or  rake,  or 
fool,  has  it  in  his  power  to  force  a  pastor  for  life  upon  a  reluc- 
tant and  reclaiming  people,  is  a  disgrace  to  a  free  country,  a 
foul  blot  on  the  character  of  Presbytery,  and  a  public  scandal 
to  religion. 

What  is  a  patron.'     According  to  the  ancient  law  of  the   Ro- 
man Republic,  a  patron   was   one  who  defended  his  clients  from 
oppression,  and  pleaded  their  cause  when  accused.     Do  our  lay 
patrons  discharge  any  part  of  this  duty?     Do  they  ever  look  near 
35 


410  ArrJEisDix. 

their  clients,  except  to  present  llieir  own  man,  and  see  that  lie, 
and  no  other,  be  inducted?  It'  a  mob  attack  the  parish  church, 
is  the  patron  called  in  to  quell  it?  If  a  refractory  heritor,  per- 
haps himself,  refuse  to  pay  his  quota  of  stipend,  is  he  prosecuted 
in  the  patron's  name?  If  the  incumbent  neglect  his  duty,  does 
the  patron  interfere  to  see  that  his  clients  are  not  defrauded?  or, 
if  they  institute  a  process  against  their  minister  for  error,  or  im- 
morality, or  non-residence,  will  tlie  ])atron  plead  their  cause  be- 
fore the  proper  court?  Is  there  any  tiling  he  does  which  others 
do  not,  except  depriving  them  of  their  Christian  riglits?  Among 
the  Romans,  the  clients  chose  their  own  patron;  among  us,  the 
patron  chooses  for  his  clients.  The  tiulli  is,  that  in  the  middle 
ages,  when  persons  were  continually  exposed  to  hostile  incur- 
sions from  their  neighbours — when  ruthless  barons  and  their  bar- 
barous followers  had  no  regard  to  things  sacred,  but  pillaged  and 
burned  down  churches  and  chapels — when  laws  were  unsettled, 
and  the  litigant  parties  appeared  before  a  court  of  justice  with 
their  swords  in  their  liands,  and  backed  by  tiieir  armed  letnin- 
ers, — chuiches  stood  in  need  of  patrons,  to  defend  them  from 
oppression,  and  plead  theircause.  All  persons  and  all  properties 
had  then  their  patrons;  every  village,  every  burgh,  every  corpo- 
ration, every  craft,  up  to  that  ol'King  Crispin,  liad  its  patron,  or 
rather  patrons,  and  patronesses,  corporeal  and  ghostly,  in  heaven, 
and  on  earth.  But  has  not  the  necessity  for  all  these  things  long 
ago  ceased?  Have  not  the  things  themselves  been  swept  away  in 
the  course  of  the  improvements  which  have  been  silently  intro- 
duced by  time,  or  by  the  laws  which  the  Legislature  has  seen  it 
proper  to  enact?  Church  patronage  alone  maintains  its  ground, 
as  if  to  remind  us  that  we  were  once  barbarians  and  slaves;  and 
that  we  may  have  remains,  animal  and  organic,  as  well  as  fossil, 
of  a  former  world,  lay  patrons  must  be  seen  floating  on  the  tide 
which  has  swept  away  almost  all  abuses,  sicut  ranee  in  gurg'Ue 
vasto.  If  any  ask,  what  can  be  the  cause  of  this  prodigy.''  I  can 
only  answer  at  present  summarily.  Indifference  to  religion;  and 
if  any  one  were  to  ask  me  for  a  palpable  proof  of  the  pernicious 
influence  which  patronage  has  exerted  on  the  popular  mind,  I 
would  appeal  to  the  long  endurance  of  it,  and  to  the  apathy 
which  the  people  have  shown  about  their  best,  their  dearest,  their 
most  sacred  rights,  even  at  a  time  when  they  were  struggling 
for  rights  of  another  kind,  which,  though  higiily  valuable,  are 
still  inferior  to  those. 

I  know  that  there  are  some  good  men,  for  whom  I  have  a  great 
respect,  who  think  that  tiie  evils  of  Church  patronage  may  be 
modified,  and  that  the  attention  of  those  who  are  friends  to  the 
Churcii  should  be  directed  to  such  amendments  as  would  allevi- 
ate the  grievances  arising  irom  intrusions,  and  jvrovide  for  po- 
pular settlements,  instead  of  seeking  the  repeal  ot' existing  laws. 
Some  of  them  trust  for  ti:is  improvement  to  tlie  restoration  of 
calls  to  their  due  place,  while  others  ground  their  confidence  in 
a  gradual  amelioration  in  the  views  of  patrons.  To  both  these 
plans,  I  would  say,  in  general,  that  they  come  too  late,  and  that, 
whatever  good  they  might  have  done  Ibrmerly,  there  is  no  like- 
lihood, from  the  present  state  of  feeling,  that  they  will  be  either 
acceptable  or  elFective.    As  to  the  first,  I  would  say,  that  it  would 


SPEECH  ON  CHURCH  PATRONAGE.  411 

lead  to  endless  collision  between  the  callers  and  the  patrons,  the 
last  of  whom  would  generally  prevail,  because  they  would  have 
it  in  their  power  to  keep  the  parish  vacant  for  an   indefinite  pe- 
riod, or  else  to  force  their  presentee   upon  it;  unless  the  call  of 
the  people  were  to  be  mnde  the  final  act  of  choice,  in  which  case 
patronage   would   be    virtuall^^j  or   rather  ipso   facto,  abrogated. 
With  respect  to  the  latter  mode,  good  men  need  to  be  reminded 
of  the  ancient  maxim,  "  not  many  wise  men  after  the  flesh,  not 
many  mighty,  not  many  noble  are  called  " — or,  as  some  critics 
would  render  the  words,  '•  have  been  callers.''     Conversions  are 
not   everyday  occurrences,  and   hitherto  they  have   been    rare 
aincmg  the   rich  and   great.     But  granting  that  these  millenial 
days  had  dawned,  I  ask,  where  is  the  Christian  man,  who,  merely 
because  the  right  of  presentation  had  descended  to  him  by  inhe- 
ritance, along  vvitli  his  lands,  or   because    he  had  purchased  the 
right  to  it  with  his  money,  would  take   it  upon  him   to  exercise 
the  high  responsibility  of  choosing  one  who  was  to  watch  for  the 
souls  of  thousands  of  immortal  beings?    To  consult  with  the  pa- 
rishioners, unless  he  intended  to  give  them  the  right  of  election, 
or  in  other  words,  to  yield  up   his   right  of  presentation,  would 
soon  be  found  a  dangerous  and  impolitic  measure.    But,  perhaps, 
he  would  call  in  other  counsellors;  and  what  more  natural  than 
that  he  should   regulate   himself  by  the  advice  of  the  most  able 
and  influential   ministers  of  the  Church  .'     That  these  Reverend 
Gentlemen   are  capable  of  estimating  the  talents  of  candidates 
better  than  either  patrons  or  parishioners,  I  am  not  disposed  to 
question,  though  there  is  room  to  doubt  if  they  would  be  the  best 
fitted  for  judging  of  the  ministerial  qualifications  suited  to  a  peo- 
ple of  whose  capacities  they  can  have  little  knowledge,  and  with 
whose   feelings    they  may  have    less   sympathy.     Besides,  they 
might   themselves  have   to  sit  in  judgment,  if  not  in  prima  in- 
stantia,  yet  in  the  court  of  last  resort,  on  that  very  cause  in  which 
they  had  taken  already  an  active  part;  and  how  could  impartial- 
ity be  e.vpected  from  them .'    In  fact,  this  specific  for  abating  the 
evils  of  patronage   would  turn  into   a   new   species  of  the  same 
genus,    it  is  merely  a  converting  of  lay  into  clerical  patronage. 
Irresponsible  power  has  always  been  prolific  of  mischief,  and  not 
less  so  when  lodged  in  the  hands  of  churchmen  than  of  others, 
especially  if  exercised  in  a  secret  way.    The  power  of  planting 
the   churches    would,  in    this  way,  fall   into  the   hands  of  a  few 
clergymen,  say  in  Edinburgh  and   Glasgow,  who  would  vote  by 
a   species  of  ballot,  or  send  their    lettres  de  caclict   to   the  Home 
Secretary's  office,  or   to  that  of  the  agent  of  some   non-resident 
patron.    [Supposing  that  this  practice  should  exert  no  deleterious 
influence  on  the  minds  of  these  individuals,  and  that  it  were  not 
inconsistent  with  Presbyterian  parity,  would  it  not  produce  jea- 
lousies in  the  minds  of  their  bretliren,  and  in  the  end   lead  to 
heart-burnings,  both  on  the  part  of  probationers  and  parishioners.' 
But  tlie  grand    objection  to   the  whole  of  this  scheme  is,  that 
it  is  founded  on  a  disregard  of  the  rights  of  the  Christian  people, 
and  deprives  them  of  the  exercise  of  their  due  privileges.     1  am 
jealous  of  all  modifications  of  the  evil— of  all  attempts  to  gild  or 
sweeten   tlie    pill.      Disguise  it  as  you  will,  still    Patronage  is  a 
bitter  draught;  tiicusands  have  felt  it  to  be   so;  and  though  it 


412  APPENDIX. 

may  be  sweetened  to  the  taste  of  the  moutli,  it  will  prove,  like  the 
prophetic  roll,  bitter  in  the  belly.  If  the  Church  of  Scotland  is 
doomed  still  to  be  oppressed,  let  it  be  by  a  tyrant  without  a  vizor. 
I  would  say,  in  the  words  of  a  Presbyterian  patriot,  in  the  days 
of  our  learned  monarch,  when  an  attempt  was  made  to  introduce 
Episcopacy  under  the  cover  of  giving  the  Church  a  representation 
in  Parliament,  "  Busk,  busk,  busk  him  as  bonnily  as  ye  can, and 
fetch  him  in  as  fairly  as  ye  will,  we  see  him  weel  eneugh,  we 
see  the  horns  of  his  mitre."  1  ask,  is  not  the  Church  of  Christ 
a  free  society?  Is  not  every  congregation  an  integral  part  of  tliat 
Church?  And  has  not  every  free  society  a  right  to  ciioose  its 
own  office-bearers? 

Permit  me  to  make  a  single  remark  on  a  position  which  has 
been  advanced,  bearing  a  relation  to  this  subject.  (The  Rev. 
Dr.  was  understood  to  refer  to  Dr.  Chalmers.)  It  has  been  said 
that  the  beau  ideal  of  a  provision  for  a  nation's  instruction  in 
religion,  is  an  Ecclesiastical  Establishment,  with  a  body  of  Dis- 
senters. Now,  if  by  this  is  meant  merely  an  establishment 
which  allows  a  liberty  to  persons  to  dissent  from  it,  without  their 
incurring  thereby  any  civil  pain  or  political  disability,!  cordially 
accede  to  it.  But  there  is  an  abuse  to  which  the  statement  is 
liable,  by  those  who  are  averse  to  all  change  or  improvement. 
When  any  complaint  is  made  of  an)^  grievance  which  is  felt,  or 
any  proposal  of  an  amendment,  it  is  met  by  not  a  few  with  the 
reply,  "  You  have  your  remedy,  you  can  dissent;  no  hardship  is 
imposed  upon  }'ou.  Now,  such  an  answer  is  good,  neither  in  a 
religious  nor  in  a  political  point  of  view, — not  in  a  religious  view, 
for  every  Christi^an  has  a  right,  by  the  laws  of  Christ,  to  the  com- 
munion of  the  Church,  and  no  set  of  rulers  is  allowed  to  exclude 
at  its  pleasure,  but  is  bound  to  take  into  consideration,  and  to 
redress  all  reasonable  complaints,  and  to  remove  every  thing 
that  is  really  a  bar  to  a  more  extensive  scriptural  fellowship, — 
not  in  a  political  view,  for  the  establishment  is  erected  for  the 
benefit  of  the  nation  at  large,  and  intended  to  be  a  national 
blessing.  It  is  a  hardship  to  be  obliged  to  dissent.  Dissent  may 
increase  to  such  a  degree  as  to  become  burdensome  to  the  nation; 
and  if  the  Established  Church  shall  lend  herself  to  this,  by  re- 
fusing to  correct  abuses,  or  neglecting  to  make  such  changes  as 
are  consistent  with  her  constitution,  and  which,  instead  of 
Vk'eakening,  will  strengthen  her  constitution,  she  is  not  only 
morally  responsible  for  the  consequences,  but  may  depend  upon 
being,  in  process  of  time,  made  fatally  responsible,  by  incurring 
a  deprivation  of  her  peculiar  privileges. 

The  proposition  on  which  1  am  remarking  seems  to  proceed  on 
the  analogous  principle  of  an  opposition  in  Parliament,  or  a 
rivalry  in  commercial  speculation,  and  views  Dissenters  merely 
as  a  spur  to  the  Established  Clergy,  by  stimulating  them  to 
greater  vigilance  and  diligence.  But  it  does  not  sufficiently 
attend  to  the  hostile  feelings  engendered  by  the  Establishment 
being  the  favoured  party,  and  enjoying,  though  not  a  monopoly, 
yet  a  protecting  and  encouraging  bounty.  Were  Dissenterism 
to  revolve  round  the  Establishment  like  a  satellite,  or  keep 
always  at  a  respectful  but  moderate  distance,  all  would  go  on 
well,  according  to  this  theory  of  the  heavenly  bodies.     But  if, 


SPEECH  ON  CHURCH  PATKONAGE.  413 

instead  of  this,  it  fly  off  to  a  greater  distance  in  space,  its  influ- 
ence is  lost,  and  llic  presiding  or  parent  planet  will  reel  and  loso 
its  equilibrium.  Agreeabiy  to  the  law  of  projectiles,  a  body  put 
in  motion  hns  a  continual  tendency  to  recede  from  the  centre, 
unless  in  so  far  as  it  is  counteracted  by  the  power  of  attraction. 
On  leaving,  or  being  ejected  from  the  Establishment,  a  body  of 
Christians  moves  in  the  line  of  a  centrifiicral  force;  and,  if  not 
restrained  and  held  back  by  the  centripetal,  must  every  hour 
remove  to  a  greater  distance  from  it.  Hence,  it  becomes  the 
duty  and  the  interest  of  an  Kstablished  Church  to  present  as 
extensive  a  surface  of  attraction  as  possible,  and  carefully  to 
remove  every  thing  that  contributes  to  lessen  its  influence.  A 
few  individuals  who  are  attached  to  its  radical  principles,  and 
who  cherish  the  hope  that  the  abuses  which  drove  them  from  its 
communion  will  be  reformed,  may  continue  for  a  considerable 
time  to  move  in  the  circle  which  they  at  first  described,  and  to 
stand  in  the  same  relation  to  her  in  which  they  placed  themselves 
at  the  separation.  But  the  principles  of  human  nature  and  ex- 
perience warrant  the  conclusion,  that  by  far  the  greater  part  will 
gradually  recede,  until  they  reach  the  point  of  direct  opposition. 
A  striking  illustration  of  this  remark  is  at  hand.  It  is  just  a 
hundred  years  since  a  Secession  from  the  Established  Church  of 
Scotland  took  place,  caused  by  the  enforcement  of  the  law  of 
Patronage.  The  first  Seceders  were  friendly,  not  only  to  the 
standards  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  but  to  her  Establishment 
by  law.  This  they  ayowed  to  the  world,  and  they  confirmed  it  in 
the  most  solemn  manner,  for  they  were  honest  and  sincere  in  the 
avowal.  They  continued  for  a  considerable  time  to  adhere  to 
these  principles;  but  at  last  they  wearied  of  holding  them,  and 
now  the  leading  persons  among  them  have  entered  into  a  league 
(I  cannot  call  it  a  Solemn  League)  with  Independents  and  other 
sects,  in  an  open  and  avowed  attempt  to  overthrow  all  Ecclesiasti- 
cal Establishments.  Far  am  1  from  justifying  them  in  this  step  ; 
but  neither  can  I  apply  the  flattering  unction,  and  say,  that  all 
the  fault  is  with  the  one  part}',  and  that  the  other  is  guiltless. 
The  proportions  of  blame,  I  do  not  meddle  with  ;  that  must  be 
left  to  a  higlier  and  impartial  hand.  "  Vcrbum  sat  sapiciitibus." 
I  speak  to  wise  men  ;  judge  ye  what  I  say. 

The  coMr.=e,  Sir,  wliich  you  have  adopted  this  day  is  the  true 
one,  in  resolving  to  strike  at  the  root  of  the  evil,  and  to  petition 
the  Legislature  for  the  total  abolition  of  Patronage.  It  is  called 
for  by  the  nature  of  the  grievance,  and  the  character  of  the 
times,  which  at  once  urge  the  necessity  of  tlie  measure,  and 
hold  forth  a  reasonable  prospect  of  success.  When  I  came  here 
to-day,  I  was  prepared  to  see  a  small  assembly,  smaller  than  that 
which  I  now  address  ;  but  when  I  reflect  upon  the  importance  of 
the  object,  and  all  t!ie  concurring  circumstances  which  conspire 
to  give  it  interest,  I  cannot  refrain  from  expressing  my  astonish- 
ment and  grief,  that  so  few  have  appeared  in  its  support.  1  am 
told,  that  the  nature  and  specific  object  of  your  meeting  have  not 
been  siilTiciently  made  known  to  tlie  public.  This  may  he  the 
case;  but  still  they  would  have  been  discovered  either  in  the 
body,  or  at  the  foot  of  even  a  long  advertisement,  had  there  not 
«  .35* 


414  APPENDIX. 

been  a  culpable  apathy  to  the  cause.  It  was  said  of  old,  in  a 
critical  period  of  Israel's  history,  "  Out  of  Machir  came  down 
governors,  and  out  of  Zabulon  they  Ihat  handle  the  pen  of  the 
writer."  But  where  are  our  governors.'  Where  are  our  learned 
scribes  and  eloquent  orators  ?  Where  are  our  political  icform- 
ers?  And  where,  O!  where,  are  our  popular  clergy.'  Have  our 
Whigs  forgotten  whence  they  derived  their  name.''  or  do  they 
need  to  be  told  that  Patronage  was  reimposed  upon  the  Church 
of  Scotland  by  a  Tory  Ministry,  with  the  view  of  preparing  the 
way  for  the  restoration  of  political  despotism .''  Have  our  popu- 
lar clergy  forgotten  what  gave  them  their  popularity .''  or  has  the 
fear  of  change  so  perplexed  their  minds,  as  to  make  them  fall 
into  the  arms  of  moderation,  and  to  subscribe  the  creed,  "  What- 
ever is,  is  right.''''  It  was  the  more  necessary  that  they  should 
have  come  forward,  as  they  know  that  Dissenters  do  not  now 
take  that  interest  in  the  subject  which  they  once  manifested,  and 
that  so  many  of  them  now  wish  Patronage  to  hang  as  a  millstone 
about  the  neck  of  the  Establishment.  But  1  am  not  discouraged 
as  to  your  prospects.  I  feel  no  shame  at  the  smallness  of  your 
numbers.  Those  who  have  prepared  for  this  meeting,  have 
shown  their  discretion  in  selecting  the  place  ;  but  for  my  part  I 
could  have  wislied  that  we  had  met  in  the  larger  room,  and  that 
the  empty  benches,  and  thinly-planted  platform,  should  have  been 
recorded  by  the  person  sitting  before  me,  and  proclaimed  in  all 
the  newspapers,  to  make  your  friends,  both  political  and  reli- 
gious, ashamed  of  their  slackness,  and  to  provoke  them  to  jea- 
lousy. Your  Chairman  has  been  pleased,  in  his  kindness  to  me, 
to  express  a  hope  of  seeing  me  one  day  in  a  certain  situation:  but 
I  can  assure  you  that  I  feel  more  honoured,  in  addressing  this 
select  meeting,  than  1  should  feel,  were  1  introduced  into  the 
General  Assembly,  and  placed  in  the  seat  before  his  Majesty's 
Commissioner. 

These  being  my  sentiments  and  feelings,  you  may  perhaps 
ask  me,  "  Why  do  you  not  formally  adjoin  yourself  to  the  So- 
ciety?" I  might  answer,  I  am  already  a  member  of  an  Anti-Pa- 
tronage Society;  I  have  been  six-and-thirty  years  an  office-bear- 
er of  an  Anti-Patronage  Society,  which  has  subsisted  now  for  a 
long  century.  This,  in  the  opinion  of  some,  may  detract  from 
the  value  of  the  approbation  I  have  given  to  your  association; 
but  1  tliink  I  can  give  a  convincing  proof  to  the  contrary.  Sir., 
if  you  succeed  in  your  object,  you  will  do  me  much  harm — you 
will  thin,  much  thin,  my  congregation.  For  I  must  say  (and  the 
attention  with  which  you  have  listened  to  me,  demands  the  frank 
avowal,)  that  though  Patronage  were  abolished  to-morrow,  I 
could  not  forthwith  enter  into  tlie  Establishment.  But  I  am  not 
so  blind,  or  so  ignorant  of  the  dispositions  of  the  people,  as  to 
suppose  they  would  act  in  that  manner.  Your  cause  will  soon 
come  into  honour;  the  restoration  of  long-lost  rights  will  convert 
popular  apatliy  into  popular  favour  ;  and  in  their  enthusiasm  the 
people  vifill  forget  tliat  there  are  such  things  as  erroneous  teach- 
ers and  neglect  of  discipline.  Do  1  therefore  dread  your  success, 
or  stand  aloof  from  you  on  the  ground  mentioned  ?  Assuredly 
no.  The  truth  is,  that  1  think  I  can  be  of  more  service  to  you, 
by  declining  to  be  in  your  council.    I  have  only  to  say,  therefor/?^ 


SPEECH  ON  CHURCH  PATRONAOE,  415 

Go  on  and  prosper;  though  your  beginnings  have  been  but  small, 
may  your  latter  end  greatly  increase!  You  have  my  best  wishes 
and  prayers. 

[Extracted  from  the  Anti- Patronage  Reporter.'] 


No.  X. 
SPEECH  AT  THE  MEETING  OF  THE  ANTI-PATRON- 
AGE SOCIETY,  January  1834. 
[From  a  Newspaper  Report."] 

Dr.  M'Crie  rose,  and  was  received  with  great  applause.  He 
said  he  had  stated  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  Society,  that  he 
came  as  a  volunteer,  not  as  a  voluntary;  now  he  had  to  say,  he 
came  neither  as  a  voluntary  nor  as  a  volunteer.  His  reluctance 
was  not  owing  to  any  scruple  of  conscience,  as  if  he  stood  on 
dangerous  ground,  or  as  if  his  appearance  there  contradicted  his 
professed  principles;  for  he  knew  that  they  would  allow  him  to 
give  such  explanations  as  would  guard  it  from  the  misconstruc- 
tions of  ignorance  or  prejudice.  His  reluctance  was  a  matter  of 
feeling.  He  felt  he  must  condemn  those  Seceders,  who,  instead 
of  preserving  the  attitude  and  holding  fast  the  principles  of  their 
fathers,  have  ciianged  with  the  times,  and  instead  of  seeking  the 
reformation,  aim  at  the  destruction  of  the  Establishment.  He 
felt  he  must  condemn  the  Establishment  also,  as  liable  to  the 
same  charge  to  which  the  Voluntary  Seceders  have  exposed  them- 
selves, by  retracting  the  testimony  which  it  had  long  and  loudly 
borne  against  the  grievance  of  Patronage.  He  had  also  to  dissent 
from  a  statement  put  forth  in  a  late  circular  of  the  Society,  that 
Patronage  was  the  one  ground  on  which  the  enemies  of  the  Es- 
tablishment can  assail  it.  He  was  persuaded  there  were  other 
grounds  both  as  to  doctrine  and  discipline.  The  sword  of  disci- 
pline had  been  drawn  against  those  who  had  carried  the  doctrine 
of  grace  to  an  extreme,  but  those  who  had  publicly  contradicted 
that  doctrine  had  been  permitted  to  escape.  He  would  not  enter 
on  the  general  question  of  Patronage.  It  was  a  disgrace  to  the 
country  that  it  should  be  a  question  in  the  nineteenth  century. 
The  great  topic  now  was  popular  rights,  and  the  dread  of  these 
had  thrown  many  good  persons  into  a  panic,  including  even  many 
of  the  popular  ministers,  to  the  infinite  delight  of  their  opponents. 
Only  in  this  way  could  he  account  for  the  manner  in  which  one 
of  tlie  most  distinguished  persons  in  our  country  and  church  had 
spoken  on  the  subject.  Optimism  was  the  very  term  that  had 
been  used  to  discredit  his  own  proposed  improvements;  but  never 
since  the  word  was  invented,  was  it  more  improperly  applied 
than  to  a  proposal  which  might  be  treated  as  common-place, 
ibut  which  it  were  ludicrous  to  represent  as  Utopian, — a  proposal 
which,  familiar  in  the  annals  of  the  Church,  was  revived  as 
often  as  there  was  the  least  prospect  of  having  a  Parliament  and 
an  Assembly  that  should  sympathize  with  the  feelings  of  the 
country.     On   the   one  hand,  he   saw  a  Whig  Ministry,  which. 


416  APPENPIX, 

after  effecting  an  important  cliange  on  the  political  constitution 
of  the  country,  by  extending  the  elective  franchise,  and  dimi- 
nishing the  civil  patronage  of  the  Crown,  refuse  to  undo  the  fet- 
ters of  the  Church,  or  to  relinquish  any  portion  of  its  patronage 
in  ecclesiastical  matters.  Refer  the  matter,  they  say,  to  the  Ge- 
neral Assembly.  When  the  Reform  Bill  was  before  Parliament, 
what  would  have  been  thought  had  it  been  said,  "  Oh,  let  us  wait 
till  the  county  gentlemen  have  held  their  meetings;  they  know 
all  about  the  matter;  leave  it  to  them  to  originate  the  plan."  Oi, 
when  the  Burgh  Reform  Bill  was  before  the  House,  "  Wait  for 
the  meeting  of  the  Convention  of  Burghs!"  On  the  other  hand, 
we  have  the  ministers  of  a  Church  which  has  long  protested 
against  the  imposition  of  Patronage  by  the  State,  not  only  re- 
fusing to  petition  for  its  abolition,  hut  actually  trembling  lest  Par- 
liament should  grant  the  boon  without  being  asked,  and  eman- 
cipate them  atrainst  their  will.  It  was  easy  to  account  for  the 
conduct  of  the  Ministry.  Having  relinquished  much  civil  patron- 
age, they  find  the  Church  useful  to  them  as  it  stands — see  its  lead- 
ers not  unwiilingto  remain  their  clients — and  know  that  from  the 
popular  engrossment  with  political  feelings  and  our  religious  di- 
visions, there  is  little  danger  of  their  being  overwhelmed  with  pe- 
titions. But  how  was  it  that  all  was  lost  on  the  minds  of  those 
who  love  the  Church,  and  to  vi'hom  her  interests  were  dear.' 
Why  did  it  not  shame  them  out  of  their  unreasonable  fears? 
They  were  at>aid  of  agitation  among  the  people.  The  agitation 
was  all  in  their  own  breasts,  or  rather  their  disturbed  fancies. 
Hence  things  were  now  confounded  which  were  once  acknow- 
ledged to  be  totally  distinct.  Patronage  was  now  talked  of  as 
an  essential  part  of  our  ecclesiastical  constitution — not  as  a  tower 
of  observation  erected  by  the  enemy  to  overawe  and  annoy  the 
garrison,  but  a  bulwark  of  the  citadel — not  an  antiquated  and 
unsightly  appendage  to  the  building,  but  the  ape.x  of  the  struc- 
ture. We  must  conceive,  it  seems,  the  Church  of  Scotland  as  a 
stately  edifice,  rising  in  spiral  ambition  until  its  head  would  be 
lost  in  the  clouds,  were  it  not  for  the  figure  of  a  patron  planted 
in  giddy  eminence  on  its  tip.  Just  as  if  the  Board  of  Improve- 
ments (whose  assessments,  he  confessed,  he  grudged  more  than 
the  payment  of  minister's  stipend)  should,  in  noble  contempt  of 
the  optimism  of  form,  order  to  be  placed  on  the  top  of  St.  Andrew's 
Church  a  gaunt  figure  of  the  thirteenth  century,  clad  in  mail,  to 
look  down  upon  the  King.  Lord  Melville,  and  Mr.  Pitt,  and  to 
compesce  the  turbulence  of  anti-patronage  agitators.  But  the 
people  !  the  ppople  !  if  we  expel  the  patrons,  the  people  will  rush 
in  like  air  into  a  vacuum,  and  raise  such  a  storm,  tempest,  hur- 
ricane, as  will  root  up  and  scatter  ever)' thing  precious  ,nnd  vene- 
rable in  our  Church.  Good  friends  I  said  the  Reverend  Doctor, 
he  not  so  much  alarmed — the  period  of  ecclesiastical  ao-itation  is 
past — the  popular  mind  has  changed — ^^the  current  has  turned 
from  religion  to  politics — and  although  you  should  join  the  Anti- 
Patronage  Society,  you  could  not  bring  it  back  to  its  old  channel. 
Instead  of  rushing  in,  the  people  have  been  rushingout  from  voti. 
You  have  told  them  that  it  is  a  delusion  to  think  that  the  Chris- 
tian people  have  an  inherent  right  to  choose  their  own  minister, 
but  to  pacify  them,  you  have  added,  that  every  man  has  the  right 


SPEECH  ON  CHURCH  PATRONAGE.  417 

of  choosing  what  minister  he  shall  hear — and  they  have  learned 
the  lesson.     The  time  may  come  when  you  will  need  all  the  as- 
sistance the  people  can  give — when  you  will  be  fain  to  stimulate, 
instead  of  stifling  their  voice,  and  to  ask  their  suffrages,  instead 
of  telling  them  that  they  are  incapable  of  any  thing  but  dumb 
and  dogged  resistance  without  the  assignment  of  a  reason.     "I 
should  rejoice  in  the  breeze,  but  1  dread  the  hurricane  !"     Very 
good  for  a  landsman,  who,  projecting  a  pleasure  sail  in  his  trim 
and  gilded  barge  to  the  Bass,  ox  to  the  Isle  of  May,  goes  out  in 
the  morning  with  his  telescope,  and  shakes  his  head  on  descrying 
a  haze  on  the  ocean ;  but  not  for  the  pilot  who  shall  weather  the 
storm.     If  you  dread  the  hurricane,  you  will  never  enjoy  the 
breeze,  but  may  moor  your  frail  bark  under  the  shelter  of  some 
black  and  barren  headland,  or  be  contented  timidly  to  creep  along 
the  shore,  as  before  the  invention  of  the  compass, and  while  naval 
architecture  was  yet  rude  ;  and  even  tliere,  when  the  storm  rises, 
you  may  be  stranded  on  the  shore,  or  dashed  upon  the  rocks; 
while   the   skilful    mariner,  trusting,  under   Providence,  to  the 
strength  of  liis  repaired  bark,  and  the  skill  of  his  tried  and  hardy 
company,  has  launched  boldly  into  the  open  sea,  and,  midst  the 
howling  of  the  tempest,  and  the  cracking  of  the  cordage,  rides 
safely  on  the  ridge  of  tlie  mountain-wave.     The  Chuich  of  Scot- 
land is  essentially  the  people's  church.     It  is  not  a  royal  church 
nor  a  Parliamentary  church.     It  is  not  the  church  of  the  euistoc- 
racy,  nor  of  the   patrons,  nor  of  the  clergy.     If  it  had  not  been 
for  the  people,  the  Church  would  never  have  survived  her  per- 
secutions; after  the  last  standard-bearer  had  fallen,  the  banner 
of  Presbytery  was  kept  waving  in  the  mountains  of  Scotland  by 
the  people,  when  there  was  not  a  minister  who  dared  to  dispense 
among  them  her  ordinances.     Wlien  it  ceases  to  be  the  Church 
of  the  people,  it  ceases  to  be  the  Church  of  Scotland — its  estab- 
lishment is  undermined.     [This  point  the  Reverend  Doctor  illus- 
trated by  reference  to  the  words  of  the  Act  1G90.]     Tliere  was 
no  need  for  alarm  at  the  expression,  the  People's  church.     The 
people  of  Scotland  know  that,  to  preserve  their  liberty,  it  is  ne- 
cessary that  the}'  submit  to  authority — that  authority  which  they 
recognise   as   scriptural.     I  will   not.  Sir,   (continued    he,)  enter 
here  in  tlie  Scripture  argument  for  tiie  right  of  the  people;  but 
permit  me  to  say,  that  I  am  not  a  little  surprised  at  the  attempts 
which  have  been  made  of  late,  and  by  orthodox  ministers  too,  to 
evade  the  force  of  that  argument.     If  such  a  mode  of  reasoning 
as  they  have  adopted  should  be  followed  out,  farewell  to  tlie  first- 
day  Sabbath,  to  infant  baptism,  and  to  Presbytery.     One  reverend 
gentleman  tells  us,  that  perhaps  the  apostles  alone  nominated  the 
two  candidates  (it  is  the  first  time  I  ever  heard  of  candidates)  for 
the  apostleship;  or  that,  perhaps,  there  were  no  more  than  two 
qualified  to  fill  the  olRce  of  Judas.     Jf,  Sir,  the  old  probabilities 
of  the  schoolmen  are  in  this  manner  to  be  introduced,  why  not 
say,  perhaps  the  two  candidates  nominated  themselves,  or  per- 
haps Peter  alone  nominated  them,  as  the  prime  patron,  as  well 
as  prime  bishop,  and  that  the  plural  number  is  used  after  the 
manner  of  kings  and  popes.'     When  the  same  reverend  author 
says  that  the  five  hundred  brethren  would  have  been  convened, 
if  it  had  been  intended  to  furnish  a  pattern  to  the  Church,  in  fu- 


418  APPENDIX. 

tiire  times,  of  popular  election,  I  would  just  remind  him  of  tlie 
Synod  of  Jerusalem,  and  tlie  seven  Independents  in  the  West- 
minster Assembly.  Let  any  person  look  into  Calvin  on  the 
Acts,  in  reference  to  tJie  election  of  Matthias  and  the  deacons, 
and  he  will  perceive  the  vast  difference  between  a  subtle  contro- 
versialist and  a  sound  commentator,  if  popular  election  was  not 
practised  in  apostolic  times,  I  challenge  any  person  to  show  me, 
on  the  principles  of  human  nature,  or  probability,  if  you  will, 
how  it  could  have  been  in  practice,  as  ecclesiastical  history  de- 
clares it  to  have  been,  in  the  third  and  fourth  centuries;  when, 
during  the  interval,  the  distance  between  the  people  and  the 
clergy,  and  the  power  of  the  latter  over  the  former,  were  in  a 
state  of  progressive  increase.  With  respect  to  our  Books  of 
Discipline,  great  misconceptions  exist  among  those  who  should 
have  known  better.  We  are  told  that  the  First  Book  of  Disci- 
pline was  never  ratified  by  Parliament,  just  as  if  the  Second 
Book  had  ever  received  that  ratification.  A  reverend  gentleman 
(Dr.  Cook)  is  represented,  in  his  reported  speech  in  the  late  As- 
sembly, to  have  said,  that  it  '-never  obtained  the  sanction  of  the 
Church,"  and  "  that,  in  what  icspects  the  choice  of  ministers,  it 
had  not  been  carried  into  effect."  The  opposite  of  these  state- 
ments is  matter  of  undoubted  history.  Repeatedly  it  is  men- 
tioned, in  Acts  of  Assembly,  as  an  ecclesiastical  standard,  and  its 
regulations  as  to  the  election  of  ministers  ordered  to  be  observed. 
No  person  who  is  duly  acquainted  with  the  state  of  matters  at 
that  period,  and  with  the  nature  of  the  contest  between  the  Court 
and  the  Church  as  to  ecclesiastical  livings,  will  allege  that  the 
communication  from  the  General  Assembly  to  Queen  Mary,  in 
1505,  is  inconsistent  with  tliis  statement,  or  that  it  proves  that 
the  ministers  of  the  Church  had  altered  either  their  sentiments 
or  their  practice  from  the  time  that  the  Book  of  Discipline  had 
been  adopted.  The  Queen  either  kept  the  benefices  in  her  own 
hand,  or  she  bestowed  them  on  unworthy  and  unqualified  per- 
sons, in  the  way  of  bargaining  with  them  for  the  greater  part  of 
the  stipend.  The  Assembly  knew,  and  nobody  doubts,  that  as 
long  as  the  law  stood,  those  who  were  admitted  as  ministers 
could  not  obtain  a  legal  right  to  the  benefice  without  a  presenta- 
tion from  the  Crown,  or  some  other  laic  patron.  What  the 
Assembly  needed  and  sought  to  obtain  was,  the  power  of  admis- 
eion ;  but  was  it  obliged,  in  a  letter  to  the  Queen,  to  state  all  the 
rules  which  it  had  snnctioned  and  published  respecting  the  mode 
of  admission.'  The  letter  states,  that  it  behooved  the  person 
presented  to  be  tried  by  learned  men,  such  as  "'the  superinten- 
dents appointed  thereto."  And  were  not  the  superintendents 
appointed  according  to  the  Bonk  of  Discipline.'  did  it  not  regu- 
late their  proceedings  in  this  vejy  matter.'  was  not  the  giving  of 
the  nomination  to  the  congregation  one  of  these  regulations.' 
And  had  not  the  Assembly  ordained,  under  the  highest  censures, 
"according  to  the  fourth  head  of  the  Book  of  Discipline,  that  all 
persons  serving  in  the  ministry,  who  had  not  entered  into  their 
charges,  according  to  the  order  appointed  in  the  said  Book,  be 
inhibited;'  and,  in  particular,  "if  they  have  not  been  presented 
by  the  pef)i)le,  or  a  part  thereof,  to  the  superintendent.'''  Those 
who  would  infer  from  the  letter  to  the  Queen,  that  tlie  superin- 


SPEECH   ON  CIIUKCir  PATIIONAGE.  419 

tendents  could  proceed  to  admission  in  the  way  of  passing  by  the 
choice  of  llie  congregation,  may,  upon  the  same  principle,  infisr 
from  it,  that  these  superintendents  had  the  sole  power  of  trial 
and  examination;  which  every  person  slenderly  acquainted  with 
our  church  history  knows  they  did  not  possess. 

Another  mistake  generally  prevalent  is,  that  the  First  Book  of 
Discipline  was  set  aside  by  the  Second.  Had  those  who  have 
avowed  this  opinion  taken  the  trouble  of  previously  looking  into 
Calderwood.  they  would  have  been  led  into  a  train  of  inquiry 
which  would  have  saliafied  them,  upon  strong-cr  evidence  than 
liis  judgment,  that  they  had  taken  up  an  erroneous  notion.  In 
many  Acts  of  Assembly,  after  the  reception  of  the  Second  Book, 
they  would  have  found  the  First  referred  to,  and  acknowledged 
as  an  existing  authority;  and  when  I  say  that  it  is  an  authorized 
book  to  this  day,  I  appeal,  in  proof  of  my  assertion,  to  the  Acts 
of  Assembly  approving  of  the  Westminster  Directory,  and  Form 
of  Presbyterial  Church  Government.  Tlie  Second  Book  was  not 
intended  to  supersede  or  exauclorate  its  predecessor,  but  to  ex- 
plain more  fully  some  points  more  generally  stated  in  the  other, 
and  to  introduce  permanent  regulations  in  place  of  certain  others 
which  are  confessedly  intended  to  be  temporary.  If  it  could  be 
Khown  that  the  first  of  these  docunients  contradicted  the  second, 
or  that  the  latter  laid  down  rules  different  from  the  former,  as  to 
the  election  of  ministers,  I  would  readily  allow  that  tiie  last  de- 
claration must  be  viewed  as  e.vpressing  the  mind  of  the  enacting 
authority.  But  I  have  yet  to  learn  where  there  is  any  such  con- 
tradiction or  contrariety.  The  First  Book  is  much  more  explicit 
on  this  head  than  the  Second;  and  it  is  contrary  to  all  the  prin- 
ciples of  sound  legal  interpretation,  to  set  aside  specific  enact- 
ments in  a  law,  under  the  idea  that  a  general  clause,  briefly 
expressed,  of  another  law  contains  doctrines  inconsistent  with 
them.  Much  of  the  confusion  in  which  this  point  has  been  in- 
volved of  late,  might  have  been  prevented  by  attending  to  the 
simple  fact,  that  a  threefold  division  of"  ordinary  vocation  "  was 
adopted  by  the  compilers  of  the  First  Book,  while  the  compilers 
of  the  Second  adopted  a  twofold  partition  I  humbly  think,  that 
the  "election  and  examination"  of  the  first  document  are  in- 
cluded under  the  '•  election  "  of  the  second.  We  are  told,  that 
"  the  judgment  of  the  Eldership  "  is  put  before  the  "  consent  of 
the  congregation  ;"  1  answer,  that  the  judgment  of  the  Eldership 
(that  is,  the  Presbytery)  precedes,  accompanies,  and  follows  the 
choice  of  ihe  people.  The  Eldership  judges  in  the  way  ol'licensing 
probationers;  it  judges,  by  limiting  the  choice  of  the  people  to 
its  licentiates;  it  judges,  by  sending  those  to  preach  to  the  peo- 
ple; it  judges,  by  sending  one  or  more  of  its  own  number  to 
moderate  in  a  call;  it  judges  of  the  regularity  and  validity  of  the 
call ;  and  it  judges  again  of  the  minister-elect,  by  subjecting  him 
a  second  lime  to  trials.  No  wonder  that  in  a  general  statement, 
the  "  consent  of  the  congregation  "  is  mentioned  last,  tliough  its 
proper  place,  in  a  tuller  statement,  would  have  been  in  the  middle. 
B\it  it  is  expressly  declared  to  be  an  essential  part  of  the  "  elec- 
tion," and  it  will  not  do,  by  a  hypercritical  exposition  of  the 
word  consent,  to  reduce  their  choice  to  mere  silence  or  inert  ac- 
quiescence.    \Vhat  would  a  British  House  of  Conmions  say,  if 


420  APPENDIX. 

the  Attorney-General,  or  some  other  legal  functionary,  were  to 
stand  up  and  tell  them  that  all  power  resided  in  the  king,  and 
that  all  which  belonged  to  them  was  quietly  to  acquiesce  in  his 
judgment,  and  in  proof  of  this  to  read  to  them  the  words,  '  Be  it 
enacted  by  the  King's  Majesty,  with  the  consent,'  &c.,  which 
are  found  in  every  Act  of  Parliament  ?  I  have  not  the  least  hesi- 
tation in  expressing  my  conviction,  that  tl>e  plan  laid  down  in 
the  First  Book  of  Discipline,  was  that  which  was  generally  fol- 
lowed in  the  settlement  of  ministers  down  to  the  period  of  the 
obtrusion  of  Episcopacy  by  James  VI.  after  he  went  to  England. 
Your  time  will  not  permit  to  give  proofs  ;  1  shall  mention  only 
one.-  On  the  appointment  of  a  second  minister  to  Haddington, 
the  Presbytery  claimed  the  right  of  nomination,  but  Mr.  James 
Garmichael  produced  the  Act  of  Assembly  1562,  which  gave  the 
nomination  to  the  congregation,  upon  which  the  Presbytery 
withdrew  its  claim. 

The  Reverend  Doctor  concluded  with  apologizing  for  the  length 
into  which  he  had  gone,  and  the  freedom  he  had  used,  especially 
considering  the  position  he  occupied  in  relation  to  the  Church  to 
which  the  Society  belonged.  His  only  apology  was  his  deep- 
rooted  attachment  to  the  Church  of  Scotland,  by  which  he  meant 
neither  the  Establishment  nor  that  branch  of  the  Secession  with 
wJiich  he  himself  was  connected  ;  but  the  Church  of  Scotland  in 
her  reformed  constitution,  as  delineated  in  her  standards,  and 
exemplified  in  the  administration  of  a  former  age,  with  such  ac- 
commodations, accordant  with  the  Scriptures,  as  the  altered  state 
of  the  times  may  require.  To  the  Church  of  Scotland,  in  this 
sense,  he  felt  an  attachment  which  was  filial  and  devoted.  He 
had  been  nursed  in  that  feeling — it  had  grown  with  his  growth 
and  had  strengthened  with  his  strength,  and  the  years  which 
had  passed  over  his  head  had  not  yet  been  able  to  abate  it.  He 
had  read  the  deeds  of  her  reformers  and  confessors  at  first  with 
mere  youthful  curiosity.  It  had  not  been  until  he  had  satisfied 
himself  that  the  system  of  doctrine  and  discipline  they  had  in- 
troduced, was  not  more  consonant  to  the  oracles  of  truth  than  it 
was  conducive  to  the  best  interests,  temporal  and  spiritual,  of  the 
nation,  that  he  had  minutely  studied  their  history.  Then,  he 
confessed,  the  fire  began  to  burn,  and  he  could  not  forbear  to 
impart  to  others  what  he  himself  had  felt.  If  his  writings  had 
commended  themselves,  in  any  degree,  to  any  person,  it  was  not 
owincr  to  any  talents  or  labour  of  his  bestowed  upon  them,  but 
solely  to  the  feeling  he  had  now  expressed — a  feeling  of  admira- 
tion, not  for  the  men,  for  they  are  deceased  and  had  given  in 
their  accounts,  but  for  the  grace  and  the  gifts  with  which  God 
had  endowed  them,  and  the  fabric  which  they  were  honoured  to 
rear.  Viewing  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  her  true  principles,  he 
felt  himself  bound  to  promote  her  interests  in  every  way  accord- 
ing to  his  power,  and  desired  to  say — "If  I  forget  thee,  let  my 
right  hand  forget  her  cunning ;  if  1  do  not  remember  thee,  let  my 
tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth." 


LIST  OF  DR.  M^CRIE's  WRITINGS.  421 


No.  XI. 

LIST  OF  DR.  M'CRIE'S  WRITINGS  REFERRED  TO  IN 
THE  LIFE. 

The  Duty  of  Christian  Societies  towards  each  other,  &c.  A 
Sermon.  Guthrie,  Ogle  and  Constable.  Pp.  40.  (See  Life, 
p.  40.) 

Statement  of  the  Difference,  &c.  Ogle  and  Aikman,  1807.  Pp. 
2.34.     (Life,  p.  1:32  ) 

Articles  in  the  Christian  Magazine,  Life  of  Alexander  Henderson, 
&c.     (Life,  p.  137.) 

Letters  on  the  Catholic  Bill,  Letter  First.  Ogle  and  Aikman, 
1807.     Pp.  2.5.     (Life,  p.  141.) 

The  Life  of  John  Knox.  1st  Edition,  one  vol.  8vo.  Ogle  and 
Blackwood,  1812.  Pp.  582.  2d  Edition,  two  vols.  Svo.  Wil- 
liam Blackwood,  1813  Cth  Edition, one  vol.  8vo.  Blackwood, 
1839.     Pp.539.     (Life,  p.  144.  j 

Articles  in  Christian  Instructor.  (Life,  Pp.  185,  191, 196,  213, 
265,  280.) 

Review  of  Tales  of  My  Landlord,  or  Vindication  of  the  Cove- 
nanters, 1817.     (Life,  p.  213.) 

Free  Thoughts  on  the  Late  Religious  Celebration  of  the  Funeral 
of  the  Princess  Charlotte.  Macredie,  Skelly,  and  Co.  1817. 
Pp.  78.     (Life,  p.  203.) 

Life  of  Andrew  Melville.  2  vols.  8vo.  Blackwood.  1st  Edi- 
tion, 1819.    2d  Edition,  1824.     Pp.480,  550.     (Life,  p.  204.) 

Two  Discourses  on  the  Unity  of  the  Church,  with  Appendix. 
Blackwood,  1821.     Pp.  174.     (Life,  p.  228.) 

Memoirs  of  Veitch  and  Brysson,  &c.  With  Biographical 
Sketches  and  Notes.  Blackwood,  1825.  Pp.  540.  (Life,  p 
262.) 

History  of  the  Progress  and  Suppression  of  the  Reformation  in 
Italy.  Blackwood.  1st  Edition,  1827.  2d  Edition,  1833.  Pp. 
496.     (Life,  p.  264.) 

History  of  the  Progress  and  Suppression  of  the  Reformation  in 
Spain.     Blackwood,  1829.     Pp.424.     (Life,  p. 268.) 

Article  in  Edinburgh  Review. — Turner's  Memoirs.  (Life,  p. 
277.) 

What  ought  the  General  Assembly  to  do  at  the  Present  Crisis  .'' 
Blackwood,  1833.    Pp.  58.     (Life,  p.  300.) 

Article  in  Presbyterian  Review. — Biblical  Interpretation.  (Life, 
p.  254.) 

Sermons.  (Posthumous  volume.)  Blackwood,  1836.  Pp.  393. 
(Life,  p.  262.) 

Lectures  on  the  Book  of  Esther.  (Posthumous.)  Blackwood, 
1838.    Pp.  304.     (Life,  p.  252.) 


36 


PUBLISHED  BY 
No.  173  RACE  STREET, 


PHILADELPHIA. 


$     Ct3. 

LIFE  OF  THOMAS  M'CRIE,  D.  D.,  Author  of  the  Life 
of  John  Knox,  Melville,  Histories  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, in  Spain  and  Italy,  Lectures  on  Esther,  &c., 
«S:c.,  by  his  son  Thomas  M'Crie,  with  an  Appen- 
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never  before  published. — From  the  recent  Edin- 
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RECOMMENDATIONS. 

"  We  have  not  read  a  memoir  for  a  long  time  past,  with  the 
same  interest  and  delight,  with  which  we  have  perused  this  ac- 
count of  the  late  Dr.  M'Crie.  We  had  long  been  acquainted  with 
him,  through  the  medium  of  those  historical  works,  which  raised 
him  to  the  very  first  rank  among  the  literary  characters  of  his 
age;  and  we  rejoice  that  the  means  are  now  furnished  for  ob- 
taining a  more  intimate  knowledge  of  their  excellent  and  la- 
mented author. 

"The  work  of  preparing  a  record  of  the  life  and  labours  of 
the  biographer  of  John  Knox  could  not  have  been  committed  to 
abler  or  better  hands  than  those  of  the  son,  who  bears  his  father's 
name,  is  his  successor  in  the  ministerial  office,  and  seems  to  have 
inherited,  in  an  eminent  degree,  his  father's  fondness  for  his  his- 
torical researches.  T!ie  volume  before  us  is  a  valuable  piece  of 
biography,  full  of  incident  and  life,  well  condensed,  and  well 
written,  catholic  in  its  spirit,  and,  withal,  modest  and  unpretend- 
ing. Indeed,  it  is  seldom  that  the  life  of  a  Christian  pastor,  and 
of  a  man  of  literature,  presents  so  much,  in  a  variety  of  inci- 
dent, to  keep  up  the  interest  of  the  narrative." — Christian  Mag. 

"  Having  perused  the  volume  with  peculiar  gratification,  we 
cannot  but  express  our  deep  conviction  of  its  excellence,  and  of 
the  fidelity  and  ability  with  which  the  author  has  executed  what 
he  must  have  felt  to  be  a  difficult  task.  What  has  been  some- 
where said  of  the  'Life  of  John  Knox,'  will  be  found  true,  we 
are  persuaded,  of  the  Life  of  Dr.  M'Crie.  It  is  a  work  not  for  one 
age  or  party,  but  in  which  all  the  friends  of  true  religion,  and  of 
the  principles  of  social  order  have  a  deep  interest;  and  for  gene- 
rations to  come  it  will  be  found  of  value  to  the  church,  not  alone 
as  recording  the  memoirs  of  one  of  her  eminent  standard-bearers, 
but  as  exhibiting  lucid  views  of  one  part  of  her  contendings  and 
sufferings  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus.'' — Belfast  Covenanter. 


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M'Ewen  on  the  Types,  ]Smo. 

M'Gavin's  Protestant,  2  vols,  8vo. 

Miller  on  Clerical  Manners  and  Habits,  18mo. 

Miller's  Letters  to  Presbyterians,  ]2mo. 

Miller  on  Ruling  Elders,  12mo. 

Miller's  (Rev.  J.  P.)  Sketches  and  Sermons,  8vo. 

Milner's  Church  History,  2  vols.  8vo. 

Milton's  Poetical  Works,  2  vols.  8vo. 

Milton's  Paradise  Lost,  18mo. 

Milton's  Gray,  Bcattie,  and  Collins's  Poems,  8vo. 

Moore's  Life  of  Byron,  2  vols.  Bvo. 

Mosheim's  Church  History,  2  vols.  8vo. 

Mrs.  Hawke's  Life  and  Correspondence,  12mo. 

Newton's  (Rev.  John)  Whole  Works,  Bvo. 

Owen's  (Dr.  John)  Works,  now  first  collected  and  edited  through- 
out by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Russell,  M.  A.,  with  Life  by  Orme, 
complete  Indexes,  fine  portrait,  &.C.,  21  vols.  8vo. 


CATALOGUE.  V 

Owen  on  tlie  Hebrews,  new  edition,  4  vols.  8vo. 

Owen  on  the  Hebrews,  abridged  by  Williams,  4  vols.  8vo. 

Owen  on  the  Person  and  Glory  of  Christ,  6vo. 

Our  Protestant  Forefathers,  Icimo. 

Paley's  Natural  Theology,  12mo. 

Parents'  Assistant,  ISnio. 

Paris'  Pharmacologia,  8vo. 

Pascal's  Provincial  Letters.  12ino. 

Pike's  Religion  and  Eternal  Life,  18mo. 

Pike's  Persuasives  to  Piety,  18mo. 

Pilgrim's  Progress,  various  editions. 

PoUok's  Course  of  Time,  32mo. 

Polymicrian  Testaments. 

Polymicrian  Greek  Testament,  morocco,  32mo. 

Polymicrian  Lexicon,  do,         32mo. 

Polymicrian  Concordance,  do.         3"2mo. 

Preacher,  (The)  Sermons  by  eminent  British  Divines,  8  vols.  Svo. 

Prideaux's  Connexions,  2  vols.8vo. 

Quakerism  not  Christianity,  8vo. 

Ramsay's  Missionary  Journal,  12mo. 

Reference  Bible. 

Religious  Ceremonies,  Svo. 

Remains  of  the  Pie  v.  Charles  WolfFe,  12mo. 

Richerand's  Physiology,  Svo. 

Roberts'  Embassy  to  China,  Svo. 

Robinson's  Scripture  Characters,  Svo. 

Robinson's  Calmet's  Bible  Dictionary,  Svo. 

Rollin's  Ancient  History. 

Romaine  on  Faith,  12mo. 

Romaine's  (Rev.  W.)  Works,  Svo. 

Russell's  Modern  Europe,  3  vols.  Svo. 

Rutherford's  Letters,  Svo. 

Rutherforth's  Listitutes,  Svo. 

Scenes  from  Real  Life,  ISmo. 

Schleusner's  Lexicon  to  the  Old  Testament,  3  vols.  Svo. 

Scott's  Force  of  Truth,  ISmo. 

Scott's  Reply  to  Tomline,  2  vols.  Svo. 

Scott's  Reference  Bible,  Svo, 

Scougal's  Select  Works,  l8mo. 

Searle's  Horse  Solitarire,  Svo. 

Seixas's  Hebrew  Grammar,  Svo. 

Simpson's  Plea  for  Relio-ion,  Svo. 

Sinclair's  Scotland  and  the  Scotch,  12mo. 

Sinclair's  Shetland  and  the  Shetlanders,  12mo. 

Sinclair's  Hill  and  Valley,  12mo. 

Six  Years  in  the  Monasteries  of  Italy.  ]2mo. 

Skeletons  of  nearly  400  Sermons,  or  The  Preacher,  2  vols.  Svo. 

Smith's  (Adam)  Wealth  of  Nations,  new  edition,  2  vols.  ]8mo. 

Sorrowing,  Yet  Rejoicing,  ISmo. 

Spiritual  Honey  from  Natural  Hives,  12mo. 

Steed  man's    Wanderings   and    Adventures    in    the    Interior   of 

Southern  Africa,  2  vols.  8vo. 
Stevenson  on  the  Offices  of  Christ,  12mo. 
Stevens'  Travels. 
Stuart's  Commentary  on  Hebrews,  Svo. 


VI  CATALOGUE. 

Stuart's  Commentary  on  Romans,  8vo. 

Stuart's  Course  of  Hebrew  Study,  8vo. 

Stuart's  Hebrew  Chrestomathy,  8vo. 

Stuart's  Hebrew  Grammar,  8vo. 

Sturm's  Reflections  on  the  Works  of  God,  Svo. 

Symington  on  the  Atonement,  ]2mo. 

Symington  on  the  Dominion  of  Christ,  12mo. 

Synod  of  Dort,  12mo. 

Tales  of  a  Grandfather,  8  vols.  ISmo. 

Taylor's  Holy  Living  and  Dying,  12mo. 

Taylor's  Fanaticism,  12mo. 

The  Canon  of  Scripture,  by  Dr.  Alexander,  12mo. 

The  Communicant's  Catechism,  18mo. 

The  Freeness  of  Grace,  18mo. 

The  Test  of  Truth,  by  M.  J.  Graham,  ISmo. 

Theron  and  Aspasio,  by  the  Rev.  J.  Hervey,  2  vols.  24mo. 

Todd's  Index  Rerum,  4to. 

Tucker  on  Predestination,  1  vol.  18mo. 

Vanderhooght's  Hebrew  Bible,  with  points,  Svo. 

Venn's  Complete  Duty  of  Man,  8vo. 

Vincent  on  Judgment,  12mo. 

Walker's  English  Dictionary,  new  edition,  Svo. 

Wanastrocht's  French  Grammar,  12mo. 

Wardlaw's  Christian  Ethics,  8vo. 

Watson's  Body  of  Divinity,  Svo. 

West  on  the  Resurrection,  ISmo. 

Westminster  Confession  of  Faith,  12mo. 

Whewell's  Astronomy,  12mo. 

Wilberforce's  Practical  View,  12mo. 

Willison's  Communicant's  Catechism,  ISmo. 

Willison's  Catechism,  12mo. 

Winslow  on  the  Atonement,  ISmo. 

Winslow  on  the  Holy  Spirit,  ISmo. 

Witsius's  Economy  of  the  Covenants,  2  vols.  Svo. 

Women  of  England,  by  Mrs.  Ellis,  12mo. 

Wood  on  Native  Depravity,  Svo. 

Young  Woman's  Guide,  ISmo. 

Young  Man's  Library,  6  vols.  18mo. 

RELIGIOUS  BIOGRAPHY. 

Life  of  Henry  Mart3'n.  12mo. Life  of  Philip  Henry,  Svo. — ^— 

Life  of  Rev.  Dr.  Nesbit,  12mo. Life  of  H.  Sinclair,  l8mo. 

Life  of  Matthew  Henry,  12mo. Life  of  Alleine,  12mo. 

Life  of  Wilberforce,  2  vols. Life  of  Isabella  Camp- 
bell, 12mo. Life  of  Mary  J.  Graham,  12mo. Life  of 

Charles  Wolffe,  ]2mo. Life  of  Pliny  Fisk,  12mo. Life 

of  Frederick  Reynolds,  2  vo!s.8vo. Life  of  Thomas  Eddy, 

Bvo. Life  of  Calvin,  by  Beza,  12mo. Life  of  the  Rev. 

John  H.  Rice,  12mo. Life  of  the  Rev.  George  Burder, 

12mo. Life  of  the  Rev.  A.  Fuller,  12mo. Life  of  Haly- 

burton,  12mo. l^ife  of  Col.  Gardiner,  ]2mo. Life  of 

Mrs.  Hawkes,12mo. Life  of  Cranmer,  ISmo. Burder's 

Memoirs  of  Pious  Women,  Svo. Hunter's  Sacred  Bio- 
graphy, Svo. Life  of  Gouverneur  Morris,  3  vols.  Svo. 

Life  of  Dr.  Franklin,  2  vols.  ISmo. Plutarch's  Lives,  Svo. 


THE  BETTER  COVENANT  PRACTICALLY  CONSIDERED. 
By  the  Rev.  Francis  Goode.    l2mo.     Price   75  cents.      Per 

dozen,  $8  00. 

The  Better  Covenant. — This  vi'ork  of  the  Rev-  Francis 
Goode,  has  recently  been  published  in  this  city.  The  best  cha- 
racteristic of  the  work  probably  is,  its  faithful  development  of 
Scriptural  truth,  in  language  entirely  appropriate  to  the  impor- 
tance of  the  subject,  while  it  is  so  clear  and  satisfactory  as  to  be 
easily  understood  by  the  plainest  reader.  Its  character  in  other 
respects  is  well  and  justly  expressed  in  the  letter  of  Bishop 
M'llvaine  contained  in  the  prelace. — Episcopal  Recorder,  (Phil.) 

The  Better  Covenant. — We  ha.ve  read  this  work,  of  which 
we  had  not  previously  heard,  with  great  and  unmingled  pleasure. 
It  has  reminded  us  of  Jewel,  Hopkins,  Leighton,  &c.  of  the 
church  of  which  he  is  a  member,  in  generations  gone  by,  as  well 
as  Owen,  Flavel,  &c.  among  the  non-conformists,  as  it  unfolded 
the  choicest  of  matter,  of  sound  evangelical  doctrine  moulded  in 
the  happiest  form  of  experience,  and  practice.'  The  author  is  at 
present  lecturer  at  Clapham,  known  to  many  as  the  residence  of 
Wilberforce, Thornton. and  others  greatly  distinguished  by  piety 
and  philanthropy,  and  was  formerly  lecturer  in  the  mission  church 
in  Calcutta.  Bishop  M'llvaine,  in  a  recommendatory  letter  thus 
speaks  of  it:  "As  a  book  of  divinity;  divinity  as  it  should  be, 
not  cold,  and  abstract  and  dead,  freezing  the  affections  while  it 
exercises  the  intellect,  but  retaining  the  living  beauty,  and  heart- 
affecting  interest  of  the  revelation  it  proceeds  from — divinity 
adapted  to  the  intellectual  wants  of  the  closest  students  of  divine 
truth,  which  provides  the  simplest,  and  sweetest  nourishment  for 
the  spiritual  necessities  of  the  humblest  Christian; — As  a  book 
of  piactical  piety,  especially  in  regard  to  the  display  it  gives  of 
the  nothingness  of  the  sinner  out  of  Christ,  and  the  completeness 
of  the  believer  in  (jhrist,  and  its  tendency  to  promote  a  spirit  of 
active,  cheerful  obedience,  by  all  those  motives  of  thankfulness, 
love,  peace,  and  joyful  hope,  which  belong  to  the  adoption  of 
sons — I  know  of  no  book  of  the  present  age  more  valuable. 
Students  of  divinity  will  find  it  a  bonk  to  be  studied.  Readers 
of  devotional  writings  will  find  it  full  of  divine  knowledge,  of 
experimental  truth,  and  of  excitements  to  prayer,  and  praise." 
With  this  strong  recommendation  of  Bishop  M'llvaine,  we  feel 
ourselves  willing  to  accord. — K.  Y.  Christian  Intelligencer. 

The  Better  Covenant  PRACTrcALLY  Considered. — The 
above  is  the  title  of  a  work  which  has  recently  been  published 
in  this  city.  The  author  is  the  Rev.  Francis  Goode,  of  the  Church 
of  England,  an  accomplished  scholar,  and  most  devout  and  godly 
man.  Many  excellent  treatises  upon  practical  and  experimental 
religion  have  been  issued  from  the  press  within  the  last  few 
years,  but  none  that  we  have  seen  is  at  all  to  be  compared  with 
this.  Indeed,  we  think  it  decidedly  the  best  book  of  the  kind 
we  have  ever  read.  We  know  of  none  in  which  the  glory  and 
excellency  of  Christ's  salvation  is  so  clearly,  fully  and  delight- 
fully presented  to  the  mind.  Throughout,  Christ  crucified  is  all 
in  all  to  the  sinner's  soul.     Accordingly,  as  it  richly  deserves,  it 


is  spoken  of  in  the  highest  terms  of  commendation,  by  both  clergy 
and  Jaity.  Some  of  the  former,  believing  that  they  could  not  in 
any  other  way  more  efiectually  preach  the  Gospel  in  all  its  free- 
ness  and  richness,  have  even  recommended  it  from  the  pulpit  to 
their  congregations. 

We  would  wish  to  see  his  book  in  every  family  in  the  land. 
VVe  are  deeply  persuaded  that  no  Christian  could  rise  from  its 
perusal  without  more  enlarged  and  affecting  views  of  what  his 
•Saviour  had  done  for  him,  without  more  humility,  penitence  and 
gratitude  to  God,  and  without  a  more  fixed  determination,  in  di- 
vine aid,  to  follow  on  to  know  the  ijord  and  to  be  filled  with  all 
the  fulness  of  God. — Episcopal  Recorder. 

Goode's  Better  Covenant. — We  have  had  but  little  time  to 
examine  this  book  ;  but  have  seen  enough  of  it  to  desire  the  op- 
portunity of  giving  it  an  attentive  perusal.  It  is  undoubtedly  a 
good  book,  written  by  one  who  gives  strong  evidence  of  his  own 
personal  interest  in  the  better  Covenant  tlian  the  covenant  of 
Works.  He  is  much  of  an  old-fashioned  divine  for  one  of  modern 
times,  who  makes  Christ  all  in  all  in  the  sinner's  salvation.  The 
present  edition  of  Goode,  contains  a  preface  and  table  of  contents, 
by  the  Rev.  Herman  Hooker. — Phiiadelpliian. 

Goode's  Better  Covenant. — This  volume  is  made  up  of  Lec- 
tures by  the  Rev.  Francis  Goode,  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of 
England,  on  portions  of  the  8th  chapter  of  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews,  and  portions  of  his  Epistle  to  the  Philippians.  The 
introduction  by  Mr.  Hooker,  contains  a  letter  of  Bishop  M-Ilvaine, 
in  which  he  expresses  great  satisfaction  in  view  of  the  republi- 
cation of  the  work  in  this  country,  and  classes  the  author  witli 
the  Bickersteths,  Noels,  Melvilles  and  Wilsons  of  the  Church  of 
England.  We  have  not  had  opportunity  to  read  the  book  in 
course,  but  have  formed  a  high  estimate  of  its  intellectual  and 
evangelical  excellence  from  the  parts  which  have  fallen  under 
our  notice. —  Christian  Witness. 

We  have  read  this  book  with  great  pleasure.  The  author  is  a 
clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England.  It  is  replete  with  practi- 
cal thought  and  instruction  on  some  of  the  most  important  doc- 
trines of  Christianity.  It  is  a  work  which  it  gives  us  pleasure 
to  recommend  to  readers  in  every  church,  and  of  every  class. 
The  author  appears  to  have  learned  from  the  Bible  the  same 
great  truths  of  Christianity  which  strongly  mark  the  writings  of 
John  Calvin,  Leigjiton  and  Owen.  Bisliop  M'llvaine  sa^'s,  "  I 
am  truly  rejoiced,  that  the  theological  literature  of  this  country 
is  to  be  enriched  with  the  addition  of  so  excellent  a  work." — So. 
Religious  Ttlegruph. 

Tliis  volume  cannot  be  read  by  the  pious  without  sensible  profit. 
It  breathes  the  very  spirit  of  ardent  piety,  and  directs  continually 
to  Christ,  as  the  only  source  of  slrengtli  and  growth  in  grace. 
The  kind  of  faith  here  inculcated,  is  not  a  cold  rational  assent  to 
general  propositions,  but  a  cordial,  living  principle  of  action,  the 
exercise  of  which  is  commonly  accompanied  with  a  sweet  per- 
suasion of  pardon  and  acceptance.  Nothing  animates  and  en- 
courages the  pious  soul  in  its  spiritual  pilgrimage  so  much,  as  the 
smiles  of  the  great  Captain  of  Salvation. — Bib.  Rep.  friaccton. 


